Naturals Elections
by LordGinger
Summary: Disowned and self-exiled, Satsuki Kiryuin searches to fulfil her father's last request, to prevent the plans of her mother and the Life Fibers. Called back to the academy she built by an old friend, she finds it under the tyrannical rule of her sister Ryuko and her Kamui. It's about time for a family reunion.
1. It's Time To Party

Naturals Election: A Kill La Kill Fanfiction

Chapter One: It's Time To Party

The streets of Honnouji used to be a uniform grey. Now the blood of innocents encrusted them, dry flakes of former students clinging and falling from his boots with each step. The cloaked man sighed as he looked up from the ravaged No-Star slums at the climb before him, the school gates at the peak of the mountain taunting him from where he stood. You left us, they seemed to say. The streets run red because of you. With another weary sigh, he began his slow ascent, cursing all the way.

* * *

"In 1933, the National Socialist German Worker's Party came to power. This was the birth of Chancellor Hitler. Eventually, Germany's post-war democracy gave rise to fascism."

Judging by the silence behind him, there was very little activity from the class. Frankly, he didn't blame the No-Star students for being absent in taking notes. It was hard to focus on schoolwork when you were terrified to even be in the building. The fact that the lesson was as dry as the chalk he used to etch it out on the board probably didn't help either. Aikuro Mikisugi would have laughed at that joke, had his thoughts not been interrupted by a knock on the steel door to the classroom. Before he could call them to enter, a line of One-Star students had already filed into the room in front of the blackboard, the last one throwing down a red carpet for his guest as rainbow flashes lit the gloom. Time to pretend he could tolerate the ruling body as well as he pretended to be a teacher.

"Excuse me; we're in the middle of a lesson."

For all the flash and thunder of the entrance, the girl that swanned in was rather small, a rich purple ermine cape filling out behind her to create the impression of one much more important than herself. That said; the Elite Four students didn't earn the mark on their chests if they couldn't follow through on their entrances. The Disciplinary Committee Chair adjusted her glasses, disregarding him with icy contempt as she faced the No-Stars.

"I'm here on official business."

**DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE CHAIR: MAIKO OGURE**

Aikuro bit back his unsavoury retort to the girl who would be queen, shying back with a quick "Yes ma'am."

"Good boy, know your place. Now then, students of second year, class K, rise for your empress."

The students scrambled to their feet at the sharp tap of Maiko's ornate gold and black staff on the carpet, the bladed globe atop it standing a foot taller than its welder. Only one person had ever laughed at the weapon, and they said you could still find the soot outline of her on the outer walls, if you had the stomach for it. Maiko's snake-like grin greeted them.

"We have determined that there is someone who intends to harm Honnouji Academy among you. As such, this filthy traitor is to be punished immediately. Now, as all explanations will go completely ignored, I suggest you save my precious time and hand yourself over now."

Silence reigned for two seconds, before a flash of light and smoke blinded the room.

* * *

The mad cackling chased the thief all the way down the stairs as he made for the exit to the courtyard. All he had to do was make it out the academy and he'd be home free. There was one last door before him, and the Three-Star student was nowhere to be seen. Pushing through it he ran into the courtyard, getting five steps farther before the ground collapsed out from under him. Shaking the dirt from his hair, the imitation student quickly clawed up the walls of a pit trap he was positive hadn't been there when he'd arrived that morning. Haughty laughter greeted him as he immerged. Maiko Ogure was floating down towards him on bellowing coattails, her uniform transformed into its battle mode.

**THREE STAR GOKU UNIFORM – EMPRESS REGALIA**

The gold and purple assemble blinded the eye to look at even more so than the imposing red letters behind it, reflecting the afternoon sunlight onto the Spy from Osaka. Maiko set down on the ground with a click, smug smile fixed upon her face as the four ethereal cuts her cape had split into floated around her, casting her in a lavender aura matched only by the one of pure cruelty she excluded.

"Did you seriously think a tear gas bomb would help you escape? They don't call me the Trap Master for nothing boy. Now, cough up the uniform."

He cursed through gritted teeth, annoyed that he'd be having to use the weapon after all. A quick escape would have been so much simpler. Retrieving his stolen goods from his rucksack, the student quickly pulled it on. His battered frame filled with strength in a flash, his body straightened and thinning as he rose to meet the elite's eye. Maiko's smile widened.

"Addicting, isn't it? The strength, the power… the Strepower, I like to call it. Come on boy; hit me with your best shot!"

She didn't need to tell him twice, his fist already moving as fast as a striking cobra. He'd knock those stupid glasses clean off her face and put her down in one strike... well, that had been the plan. HIs hand passed through a cloud of smoke, and by the time he'd cleared it away Maiko was behind him, leaning against her staff and yawning.

"Oh, so close. Try again boy, maybe you'll get me this time."

He struck again, and again and again, each punch meeting a puff of smoke as paper tags, stuffed animals and wooden logs clattered all around him. Maiko hadn't even broken a sweat.

"That said, even if you could hit me, a thousand One-Star Uniforms wouldn't be enough to chip the paint on my glasses. My uniform, that of the Three-Star elites, has more power than you could ever dream of. Here, let me show you!"

She swung her staff at full force, an unavoidable attack given his exhaustion. The fake student was launched clean into the air with all the stolen skill of a master golfer. As he came down near the entrance, a cluster of orange mines awaited him, the explosion sending right back where he'd come from, only to land on a blinding glyph hastily drawn into the dirt, electricity painfully arcing through his body to freeze him in place as the dust swirled and settled in the courtyard. Maiko loomed over her prey, secure in victory.

"What a shame. Looks like you just weren't cut out for the Strepower. Strip him down boys!"

And with the order given to her flunkies, she turned back to the academy, just in time for a menacing red glow to envelop the school grounds and the sky itself. Maiko cursed, unaware that her boss was actually paying attention to her academy for once. Well then, it was time to put on a show for all the boys and girls staring out the windows. The staff shortened to hand-held length, the orb splitting to reveal a microphone.

"Students of Honnouji Academy, listen up! As long as I, Maiko Ogure, sit in the Disciplinary Chair, no law breaker will go unpunished! You will all remember your place as worthless worms, writhing in the dirt with your vainglorious hopes to rise above your stations! As is your given right by Lady Ryuko Kiryuin!

The red light intensified, forcing all in attendance to look up to their lord and master. Maiko raised one hand to her chest, prompting the student body to do the same.

"Students! All salute Student Council President, Ryuko Kiryuin!"

The clack of the spotless heel would be heard throughout the academy. It was a demand for attention from all, unable to deny its call even if they wished. The pure white breastplate of the Kamui glinted bright even in the blood-red glow that accompanied it, the eyes on Junketsu's twin spires known to all as they and their master glared down on the masses, a bloodied kendo stick clutched in one gauntlet. Thousands listened in reverence for her sacred words.

**STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT - RYUKO KIRYUIN**

"Turn around, you stupid bitch."

It took a second to register, but Maiko ignored the insult for long enough to whip around to find the One-Stars face down on the ground, a tall man covered from head to toe in rags carrying the would-be uniform thief under one arm. Staff extending, Maiko spun it back to bear on the newcomer, a glowing sphere of light aimed at his chest.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" She demanded.

There was a deep chuckle from the man, and Maiko's blood froze in her veins. She knew the voice. She wished that she didn't.

"I'm not surprised you're forgotten me, Maiko Ogure. Such is your arrogance; that you even look down on those above you, both figuratively and literally."

The newcomer raised one broad hand, pulling down his hood to expose himself for all of Honnouji Academy to see.

**LIFE FIBER HUNTER – IRA GAMAGOORI**


	2. Chase the Ace

Naturals Election: A Kill La Kill Fanfiction

Chapter Two: Chase the Ace 

The Matoi mansion was a husk of its former self, abandoned for so long that even the ashes had fled into the wind to search for greener pastures. What was left of it was currently being soaked by the unexpected rain. Despite this it still managed to attract visitors, two teenaged girls gingerly examining the burnt-out framework. The smaller of the two looked less confident than the taller, scratching the patch of neck beneath her ponytail, an equally pink umbrella resting on her shoulder.

"Are you sure there's going to be anything left here Satsuki? The grand couturier sure did a number on this place."

The other girl straightened from her crouched position, the eastern wind catching her hair as she turned. At a glance one might think the age of samurai had returned, the simple cotton outfit and the three swords hanging from her hip clearly marking her as a warrior. Her face was set in stone as she made her way through the remnants of each room, uncaring for the rain as her gloved hands ran along the ruined walls. Satisfied with the results of her search, she turned back to her companion.

"Nui Harime has two particular talents that she has honed to perfection. Sewing and murder. She is also legendary reluctant to clean up after herself. As such, I believe it is Dr Matoi that set this place alight, and if so…"

Her hand came to rest on a lump on what used to be a kitchen wall. Pressing her palm down on it caused the floor two feet away from her companion to open up, a one-way drop into unending darkness.

"Then I believe he would store everything of worth in a place where the fire could not touch it."

A rare smile graced the face of the taller girl.

"Good enough for you, Nonon?"

**LIFE FIBER HUNTER - SATSUKI KIRYUIN**

The petite girl gave an uneasy look into the abyss beside her. To the human eye she stood opposite to her partner in every respect, both shorter and brighter than her friend. Whereas Satsuki's ensemble was without clutter and invoked a time long gone, Nonon Jakuzure's one piece catsuit was electric pink and covered in things that some would question the importance of. A multitude of gadgets, gizmos, disks and weapons, a short knife on her belt. More interesting was the robotic monkey staring into the pit, wide eyes becoming floodlights to pierce the void. It leapt back to its master's shoulder at the wave of a hand, where it pawed at the skull-print beret upon her head.

"Considering that I've got a feeling you're going to make us go down there, not really."

**LIFE FIBER HUNTER – NONON JAKUZURE**

Satsuki's faint smile faded as she walked up to the trapdoor and, with a causal glance sideways, stepped forward and vanished from view. It took Nonon a second to recover, blinking in disbelief before planting one hand firmly on her face.

"Why am I even surprised at this point?"

A sudden crash echoed out from the pit, Nonon dashing over to throw herself on hands and knees before it, the robot monkey following her motions to a tee.

"Satsuki, please tell me you're still alive!"

Chest-tightening silence was the only answer she received. Nonon looked over to her pet and tried to ignore the fact that her umbrella has just been carried off by the wind in her shock.

"And that was my last thing from home as well. Guess we've got no choice, huh, Marika?"

The monkey scurried up onto her shoulder obediently, gripping her collar tightly as Nonon took another hesitant look into the void.

"If I die here, I'm going to kill her."

And with that, she closed her eyes and fell.

And promptly went face-first into the side of a wall, bouncing back to smack her head on the other side. Rocked about like Sunday's dry cleaning she tumbled, span and squeezed down the hidden passage. Fortunately the landing was soft, as Satsuki was stoically waiting with arms outstretched to catch her in a manner befitting a corporate princess. Nonon's demeanour certainly wasn't, with her head lolling backwards, eyes spinning. She was broken out of her dazed state by fourteen pounds of primate machinery landing in her stomach.

"I hate you, Satsuki Kiryuin. I hate you so much."

There was a soft huff from her friend.

"I have told you time and time again that you could and should leave if you wished. At this point you have no excuse."

Nonon groaned as she was set down onto a mountain of scrap cloth, stretching out to every corner of the garage-like area the two now found themselves in.

"So, this was his lab, huh? Not exactly much."

"Dr Matoi was in hiding from REVOCS for a good portion of his life, working with a very finite amount of Life Fibers. The fact he created the Rending Scissors is more or less a miracle."

"Miracles aren't much use if no-one uses them." Nonon snarked as they slowly made their way down the pile, heading to a workplace on the far side of the room, a fuse box besides it.

"Nudist Beach will be dealt with in due course. We simply have to bide our time for the time being." Satsuki replied, Nonon sighing behind her. That prideful streak was the reason she'd been sleeping on dirt for the past few years, for good and ill. Satsuki quickly fixed up the fuse box, the lights came on in rows to exposing the room for all to see.

"Two entrances, including the one we came in from. It will have to be boarded up; we cannot risk unwanted company dropping in on us."

"Wait, you can't seriously be considering living here?"

"Why not? The location is ideal. Honnouji Academy is twenty minutes away by automobile, and the outward appearance should deter unwanted locals and REVOCS, so long as we watch our exits and entrances carefully. This is most likely the best location for us."

"The place is full of rags! More to the point, we don't have an automobile! Even if we did, the Toad's the only one of us old enough to drive, and he doesn't have a license!"

Satsuki withdraw a map of the area from a pocket, spreading it out on the work bench before them. Several routes had been highlighted as possible means of passage to and from Honnouji, circles denoting other points of interest in the area.

"Obviously. There is a bus stop and a train station nearby; both will take us directly to the heart of Honnouji."

Nonon looked at Satsuki like she'd lost her mind, which for all intents and purposes it appeared she had.

"Alright, even considering that's the worst way to lead a charge into enemy territory ever, we're still lacking basic necessities. The lights work, but I can't see any plumbing down here for a start."

Satsuki unfolded the map further, drawing Nonon's attention to another highlighted area.

"I took the precaution of scouting the area beforehand. This lake is a five minute walk away. Provided we bury our waste by the treeline, the water should provide a valuable drinking and bathing source for the duration of our time here."

Had they been in one of those animated shows Ryuko had been fond of as a child, Satsuki suspected that this would be the moment when colour would have drained from Nonon completely.

* * *

Ira Gamagoori had made a terrible mistake. It was one he would make a thousand times over, given the same choice, but the manic, grating laughter from the academy's peak wasn't exactly boosting his confidence. Still, it was to be expected of that maniac. Ryuko Kiryuin finally straightened upright, a few airless coughs shaking her frame as she wiped one red-rimmed eye.

"So, the prodigal arsehole returns! Is this your grand plan Gamagoori? Planning on carrying each student out one by one are we?"

The scion of the Kiryuin Conglomerate howled with mad laughter once more, running one hand over the red highlight in her hair and past two white antennae to scratch the back of her head, leaning forward on the kendo stick.

"Still, if you're here to ask for your job back, I'm afraid things are gonna get reeeal awkward around here. Ya know, considering you're looking at your replacement and all."

Ira spat in the dirt before him, ignoring Maiko entirely, something the Disciplinary Chair felt conflicted about. She hadn't been ignored so crudely since she'd joined the Elite Four, but at least he didn't have beef with her.

"Not if this was the last place of civilisation on earth, and there are very few left as it is."

Ryuko spat back. This normally wouldn't have been notable, if not for the small crater it left near Ira's foot.

"Yeah, thought you'd say something like that. Well, this has been entertaining, but I guess we've run our course. Can't really figure out why you showed up in the first place to be honest. Guess when God was handing brains, you were too busy yellin' at everyone to stay in line."

Before he could retort, Ryuko was already heading back inside as the heavens split open, casting Honnouji's courtyard in dramatically appropriate rain. Despite his situation, Ira couldn't help hoping that the girls had made it under cover in time.

"Maiko, kill him and get that uniform back. I'm gonna see if Uzu's fixed his nose yet."

And so Ira had to contend with the self-proclaimed empress again, who looked about as pleased with that order as he was. With a snarl on her lips, Maiko leapt backwards behind her line of student help, spinning her staff about elaborately.

"You heard the lady, go get him!"

The One-Star line moved as one organism, a wall of death rushing right at him. Ira recognised a few of their faces, back when he'd been feigning power in this mad place. He quickly weighed up his options. Maiko was afraid to battle him, and whilst he was confident he could take this group handily the scrum of combat would slow him down enough for the Deva to jump in, and his odds against her were far less likely, even if the situation had been anything close to a fair fight. There was also his passenger to consider. He much as he wished, he could no fight with all of his strength and protect the boy at the same time. With all this in mind, Ira took the one path open to him, distasteful to him as it was. Which was turning tail and running as fast as possible. Maiko Ogure's frustrated scream was a very satisfying note to leave on, demanding more men as he barrelled out the gates.

* * *

Thankfully, the trip down was a lot less exhausting than climbing the mountain, even with disciplinary students in pursuit. The Two-Star district came and went in short order, bringing him to rows of uniform housing apartments. He'd almost begun to naively believe he'd get away scot-free when gunfire begun to rain down from every balcony. Despite his head start, Maiko had managed to bring out obstacles in force. The main road had been barricaded, forcing him to take cover in an alley as housewives rattled off assault rifles from every angle. A quick check confirmed the One-Star wasn't hurt, but that was unlikely to remain a reality as long as they stayed here. The brickwork was coming away in choking dust as it was. Suddenly, the gunfire stopped, and a Yankee voice rang out.

"Ira Gamagoori! Come out with your hands up! There's nowhere to go!"

The demand was followed by the sound of a hundred gun-cocks. Ira grit his teeth. If Maiko had sent who he thought she had, everyone out there was likely a trigger-happy bastard. If he refused to comply, they'd just bring the weakened walls down around him. Still, he could protect the boy a while longer. Stuffing him into a dumpster, Ira made to face the music. Removing a helmet from his belt, the world faded into darkness for a second before lighting up again, various bits of text and numbers overlaying his view. He pulled his hood up once again to disguise the helmet, hoping to gain some advantage through analysis before they started shooting again. Stepping out, the side of his vision was filled by a text box identifying the club president leading the pack.

**SHOOTING CLUB PRESIDENT – BEROS GOYLE**

Blonde pigtails blew gently in the wind as a number of red dots focused on his chest. Under Ryuko's rule, Honnouji had lowered its standards greatly, which was the only reason Ira could think of for how such a delinquent had acquired the rank of club president. That said, with those ridiculous short shorts she wore exposing her tanned skin; it was easy to see why the ranks of the Shooting Club had tripled and expanded to include so many of the twitching perverts taking aim behind her. Still, even if the ganguro girl's outfit was shameful, there was nothing to be underestimated about the gigantic, triple-barrelled Gatling gun that took the place of her right arm, a great many coils strapped to ammo boxes on her back.

"Thanks for coming out… sucker!"

And Ira vanished in a hail of smoke and bullets as every gun nut let loose with everything they had, submachine guns rattling out alongside concentrated bursts from the snipers on the rooftops. The Shooting Club laid it on until every member was spent, sharing broad grins all around as what little cover the intruder had collapsed and crumbled. Beros popped the wad of bubble-gum she'd been working on with a smirk.

"Good work boys! This should put us nicely in Lady Ryuko's favour."

"I'm afraid the only place you're going is the tailor."

Smiles turned to shock as the smoke cloud parted, Ira Gamagoori stepping out of the rubble unharmed. To the dismay of the shooting club, he was not unarmed. His ragged cloak had been stripped away completely by the attack, revealing dark green plate armour with black pauldrons, a golden double-headed eagle embossed on the chest. There was not a mark or scratch from the assault anywhere on the metal. The red lenses of the helmet lit up as a heavy gun, more a grenade launcher than a conventional firearm, roamed from member to member.

**GAMAGOORI METALWORKS POWER ARMOUR – MARK VII**

The Shooting Club had about a split second to recover before Ira opened fire, club members falling in droves, instantly stripped of their Goku Uniforms as the rounds erupted into each small pack on the balconies and rooftops. Within ten seconds, the Shooting Club was down to one member. And she was too busy drooling to care, bubble-gum falling from her mouth.

"God…Damn. You gotta tell me were to get one of those babies."

Ira simply levelled the bolter at her, prompting a quick-draw from the president. A warm wind blew down the decimated street, thousands of casings rolling down towards the slums. The combatants remained still; waiting for a cue they both knew was coming. A No-Star tumbled from a first story window, and the street was lost in smoke and gunpowder.

* * *

"Maiko, you have to ask permission before you borrow other people's things! It's rude otherwise!"

Maiko would happily trade away her Goku Uniform for five minutes alone in a dark room with the idiot trying to lecture her and a pipe wrench. Stupid, ditzy, only became a Deva in the first place because she was sleeping with Ryuko and everyone knew it, despite how hard the dykes tried to hide it bitch. The girl whose features could only be described as round kept banging on with one of her bothersome speeches, ignorant to Maiko's dreams of ultra-violence. Miraculously, the idiot seemed to understand it wasn't magically turning her opinions as well as she'd like, so she brought in the big gun.

"Ryuko, she's taken two of my clubs! And she didn't even check with me before going through the No-Star classes! Exams are coming up; my friends don't need all these disruptions!"

**NON-ATHLETIC COMMITTEE CHAIR AND CUSTODIAN OF NO-STAR STUDENTS**** – ****MAKO MANKANSHOKU**

Upon her iron throne, Ryuko sighed as she waited on a cup of coffee from her butler. Satisfied with the drink, she turned her attentions back to her devas.

"You really should have asked, Maiko. I only approved cause I was too busy laughing at you screaming for more men like a five dollar hooker."

There was a snort of laughter from the swordsman in the room, and Maiko suddenly found herself not caring for the opinions of her boss.

"So you'd rather I let a traitor and thieves go free, despite how badly it would damage the academy? If the secret of the Goku Uniforms got out, it could allow our foreign rivals to move in on REVOCS territory."

Ryuko showed how much she cared in return by yawning.

"Not my concern. Besides, what rivals? We brought up Nike last week, so unless some new bastards come crawling out the woodwork, we're safe as houses. Hell, I think I'd prefer that, I've been so bored since we took Kobe that I'd love to see some new competition."

"You mean other than the Takarada family, who'd love to muscle in on Kiryuin space?"

That one penetrated her thick skull, Ryuko's eye twitching violently as Junketsu's narrowed. If Maiko didn't know better, she would have sworn it was communicating with her.

"Fucking restraining order. One of these days I'm gonna make that ginger twat wish all his teeth were gold, and damn the results. Alright, fine! As the Shooting Club's had their arses handed to them, fuck me if I know how, and the Automotive Airsoft Club are still getting into gear… Inumuta! Tell me you can do some nerd shit to help out Maiko, and then feel free to tell me how that big bastard managed to sneak up on us and tear apart out one of our largest clubs like paper chains!"

At his laptop, the bespectacled boy sighed into his uniform and prayed that this forced assistance wouldn't spark Ogure's lust for him too badly today as his collar popped open.

"I have already sent the order to shut down outside modes of transport, and directed some of the Two-Star disciplinary students to key locations, backed up by some of our heavy artillery. A live feed of all the cameras in the city following him the second he makes his move. If by some miracle he makes it out of town, I have pre-emptively filed a report with the police and the military. Ira Gamagoori follows rules to a tee, and his weapon seems to be designed purely to destroy Life Fibers, as evidenced by the Shooting Club's lack of real injuries that weren't caused by them mucking about on rooftops. If an official locates or questions him, he'll likely surrender into their custody without resistance."

**INFORMATION AND STRATEGY COMMITTEE CHAIR – HOUKA IMUMUTA**

"Thank you Houka." Ogure oozed, giving him a wink that clearly said "Aren't we so much cleverer than these fools?" With a silent nod, he turned back to his laptop and tried to hold down his lunch.

"I've got an idea. Scrap that, send everyone home and I'll hunt Gamagoori down in a minute."

The attention in the room turned to the handsome green haired swordsman, currently being attended to by a pair of cute nurses. Despite his bloodied and crooked nose, he wore a wide smile.

**ATHLETIC COMMITTEE CHAIR – UZU SANAGEYAMA**

That one got Ryuko laughing again.

"Uzu, you've already gone five rounds with me today, and you're still hungry for more? Damn boy, you're insatiable!"

She ignored Mako's blushing, instead guiding her into a seat with the flick of her hand. Uzu waved his nurses away and made to get up, only for his legs to give way, which would have sent him head first into the table had a tentacle from Ryuko's wrist not caught him by the chest and returned him to the sofa. She waved the nurses back in again, a job they set to with gusto.

"Which is why you're not going out today. Sorry dude, you're DOA. Besides, he's too far gone for you to catch up even with your quick feet."

She sipped her coffee again, looking back to Maiko.

"Right, so we're in agreement. Ask permission before we borrow each other's toys, and fuck Ira Gamagoori. Fantastic. Back to work everyone, I want no more distractions before the Naturals Election next week."

The Four Devas of Honnouji nodded, and went about their business. Which was, respectively, hanging out with Ryuko, hunting Ira Gamagoori, playing online chess and wondering when the nurses would stop spinning.


	3. I Speed At Night

Naturals Election: A Kill La Kill Fanfiction

AN: Two quick notes before we get started. Firstly, thanks to Thunderf0x for being the only person to catch the first of what will be many dumb references. Secondly, to the semi-anonymous reviewer Kaze: no, Ryuko is not sewn into Junketsu. That would make things too easy. My apologies for taking two months to answer that.

* * *

Chapter Three: I Speed At Night

The rain began to let up as Ira collected the Life Fibers left over from the Shooting Club, turning back to find his rescued student groggily pulling himself from the dumpster he'd been unintentionally sheltered in. Spotting him, the borrowed One-Star pulled himself into something that could be described as a Drunken Boxing stance if one was generous. You would have to ignore the fact he immediately collapsed, not that it was enough to stop him from slapping away Ira's offer to help him get up.

"I thought you worked for the Kiryuins. What the hell?"

"Drop the s; I only work for one of them."

The spy watched him carefully as he found his feet, debating if he could out run the hulking mass of man and metal before he just gunned him down. He made his mind up after a second, breaking his glare.

"Fine, whatever. You got me out of there, so I'll stick with you until we're out of town. A big guy like you will keep me safe until then."

"Very well. As you seem to already know me, might I get your name?"

"Robert Speedwagon."

Ira cocked an eyebrow at the broken English. The spy looked indignant.

"What? Like I'm going to tell anyone who works for the Kiryuins my real name."

Ira shrugged, setting the spy's teeth on edge with the great rattle of metal it caused.

"As you wish. Well then Speedwagon, let us withdraw coolly. Did you have a plan for escape other than just running and hoping they didn't catch you?"

The Spy from Osaka gave a proud smile.

"Obviously. Come on Big Guy, let's get going."

* * *

The streets were swarming with One-Star Students as the unlikely pair made their way through the multitude of alleys created by the uniform apartments. If Ira knew his procedures, and he did, the Disciplinary Committee would stick to the main streets, the primary means by which one could leave the academy. To counterpoint the obvious weakness of this strategy, boat patrols would be waiting by the outward sewers to catch anyone daring to brave them. And considering that there was no way to leave by the air, it was hard to see what the Osakan had planned. They slowly made their way towards the slums, slipping past the skeleton guard checkpoint into the burnt-out ruins. Ira's jaw tightened unconsciously in disgust. The spy let out a low breath.

"Yeah, this area got hit real hard by the Naturals Elections. But I guess you'd know all about that, huh? Still, makes it easy to hide out. No-one bothers coming down here, not even the No-Stars. Not since Mankanshoku opened up the Safe Zone anyway."

Before Ira could ask what the Safe Zone was the spy vanished into the least dilapidated building in sight, immerging shortly helmeted and wheeling out a scooter. It was quite obvious that neither were for Ira.

"So, that's how it is."

"Like I'd trust anyone who works for any of the Kiryuins. Thanks for getting me down here though!"

The last part was shouted over the spy's shoulder as he fled the slums. Ira sighed as he watched him go. He couldn't blame the teenager, not really. Had their positions been reversed, he might have easily done the same. A soft wind hissed through the slums, the smell of blood and ash immediately killing that thought as Ira's teeth clenched in fury. No. No more running away. He'd fled Honnouji once, it had only led to continued tragedy. His trigger finger twitched as thoughts of stomping straight back up the mountains played with him, begging him to give Ryuko Kiryuin exactly what she deserved.

Such reckless thoughts were stopped dead as the ground beneath his feet suddenly began to glow a deep purple.

"Looks like you need a ride."

Ira whipped around in a second, bolter primed. The bespectacled man looking down the barrel shot him a bemused smirk in return.

"Hey now, is that any way to say hello?"

**COMPLETELY NORMAL HISTORY TEACHER - AIKURO MIKISUGI**

Ira stole a look at the subtitles, quickly deducing the man's identity.

"So you're…"

"A good Samaritan, looking to help out a student. Come on, hop in."

He patted the roof of the car he'd appeared from, before slipping into the driver's seat. Ignoring his mother's warnings about getting into cars with strangers, Ira took the passenger seat. No sooner then he'd managed to strain the seatbelt over his armoured chest, the Naked Shooting Star had roared into life, heading towards freedom. Ira could have sworn the car had lost another two inches from the ground clearance when he got in as the ride was undeniably rough, but nevertheless…

"This is a pretty nice car you have here."

There was a short chuckle from the teacher.

"Not exactly what I was expecting to hear, but thank you. I suppose trekking around with the lost Kiryuin ill affords comforts such as this?"

Ira grunted in confirmation.

"Still, I have to ask. Why offer me assistance? We did not part with Nudist Beach on the kindest of terms last time we were in Osaka."

Aikuro smiled as they turned to see the checkpoint set up by the disciplinary committee. Beyond it lay the miles of open roads untouched by most in the area. That said, they had to get through it first and Ira could see no possible way to get through without them… of course.

The bolter was jammed into Aikuro's side, the bastard actually having the audacity to look surprised as Ira glared at him.

"So, that's your plan. Hand me over at the checkpoint to curry favour with Ryuko is it?"

The teacher released an elongated breath, slowing down as the traffic lanes drew into single-file.

"My my, we're awfully paranoid, aren't we?"

Three trucks before them, another one behind to box them in. It must have been time for Honnouji to stock up on Life Fibres. Still, that left three chances for the undercover agent to change his mind. And it looked like he was already taking it.

"Mr Gamagoori, why on earth would I call unnecessary attention to myself by appearing before Ryuko? It'd just put me on her radar."

"Bullshit. Ryuko Kiryuin cares about Ryuko Kiryuin and no-one else. If she didn't, I'd still be in her elites."

Two trucks to go. The bolter pressed tighter. Aikuro grinned into the pain.

"To answer your previous question; even if HQ frowns on involving the renegade Kiryuin in their more detailed plans, it does not change the fact that we fight the same enemy. And frankly, I'd rather not have the wild card revealed too soon. That's just not how the game is played."

One truck to go. Disciplinary students swarmed the area, waving it through. Ira grit his teeth. Now or never. They were disguised behind reflective glass, but would that be enough to camouflage his escape, even assuming the nudist could be trusted?

"Hey, get a move on!"

And the choice was made for him, The Naked Shooting Star rolling forwards to stop before the barrier. Aikuro brought one hand up to his lapel as the window rolled down, Ira shifting his weapon to keep it out of sight, now pressing it on the driver's leg. Aikuro got one last sentence in as one of Ogure's goons marched up to the window.

"You may wish to avert your eyes."

The One-Star poked his head in to check the pair, only to be greeted by a purple glow as the buttons on Aikuro's shirt ruptured open in a flurry of cloth and plastic, his nipples lighting up the car.

"You don't need to see our identification."

The One-Star's eyes glazed over as he was bathed in the alluring light.

"I don't need to see our identification."

"You're going to let us through now."

"I'm going to let you through now."

He wandered back to his station on shaky legs, ignoring the call from one of his peers as he opened the barrier leading out to the main road, Aikuro slamming his foot into the floor as the Naked Shooting Star roared into life once more. Before Ira could ask what on earth was happening, the world was filled with the twin cacophony of engines and sirens as the Disciplinary Committee and their allies immediately took chase. Aikuro gave a weak smile.

"Well, that worked out better than I thought it would. Plan B was just to smash through the barrier."

"So, that light show was…"

"A nice trick, nothing more. It works on the weak minded, but only for a second."

The wing mirror on his side exploded as they pulled out onto the main motorway, gunfire impacting the car from behind as a villainous convoy took to the roads, raring for blood. Ira checked his bolter, giving the seatbelt release from its torment as he readied himself for battle. Gingerly winding down the window, he made to lean out only to find it too small. All around, gunfire bounced and impacted off the trunk and back window of the car. Trying to shift his bulk around in the confined space, Ira searched for the identity of his attackers, to no avail. The shapeless mass of machinery responded in kind by shooting harder.

"Damn, I can't see a thing."

"It's likely the Automotive Airsoft Club. Ever since they combined into one club, they've been the only ones with this kind of speed and firepower. Still, we should be fine. This baby's been modified to Nudist standards, so we'll be able to ride this out in no time."

And with the universe properly taunted, the rear of the car promptly exploded under RPG fire, jerking the pair around as Aikuro fought for control. On the bright side, with the car damaged it wasn't like the teacher couldn't fob Ira's plan of attack off on the insurance.

"Sorry about this, I'll pay you back when I can."

"Sorry about whaaaaat?"

Aikuro's question ended in a high pitched squeal as Ira put his fist through the ceiling. A second hit created enough room to stand on the passenger's seat, allowing to get to peeling the roof away, creating a shield and resting place for his bolter on at the same time. Just in time as well, as the Automotive Airsoft Club had made up the distance to surround the Naked Shooting Star. Single fire rounds immediately took out the three trying to shred the rear wheels, encouraging the remaining members to focus their fire upon him as Aikuro blinded a fourth on their flank with a shining nipple, sending the student careening into the side of the road. But the club was like a hydra, every custom car replaced by another in no time at all, even as Ira's shots tore their ranks and the road to pieces. A harsh laugh somehow rose above the unholy calamity in time with a super-charged engine roar.

"Well, look what we have here! Do you really think you can escape the Automotive Airsoft in that wreck? It was a pretty thing, I'll give you that, but she ain't nothing if she can't last the night!"

* * *

Late afternoon was an awful time to be driving. Despite the many, many driving songs proclaiming the romanticised view of the easy afternoon drive, it was just a pain in the arse of any self-respecting driver. The sun forced its way into your eyes by any means it could, bugs would smash themselves against your windscreen, and god help you if your air conditioning broke down. And that was just in a car. As such, the only thing comforting the Spy from Osaka as he spat out another fly was that his mission was as good as completed. His fake identification had gotten him clean past the Disciplinary Committee, and now he was more or less home free. That said, if he had spent less time focusing on flies and the heat he might have noticed the noise running up the motorway behind him. Not that it would have made much of a difference either way, as the spy suddenly found himself forcibly bound between a pair of Automotive Airsoft Club members, the scooter brought alongside the club president in chains.

"And would you look at that, we've bagged ourselves the thief as well! Lady Ryuko's got to approve our extra funding now!"

**AUTOMOTIVE AIRSOFT CLUB PRESIDENT – RYOSUKE TODOROKI**

The club presidents continued to meet Ira's expectations for the kind of degenerates that would work under her. Every vehicle around him was nothing short of hideous in its design, a snarling beast designed only for power with no thought or soul put into it. The club president had fused himself into his car as part of his Goku Uniform, for God's sake! That said, he had to admit that there was a small note of amusement to be had at the situation.

"Hello again, Robert Speedwagon. How goes the escape?"

The spy shouted a muffled curse through his bindings.

"It's good to see you too."

Ryosuke interrupted the unexpected reunion with another harsh laugh.

"Well, ain't this cute. We'll have to cut this short, but you two can get real acquainted in the dungeons back at Honnouji. Light them up boys!"

"Just one moment, if you would!"

The remains of the Naked Shooting Star's trunk flew off, weakened from the initial attack. A heavy-set speaker system was inside, revealed to the Automotive Airsoft Club as the dislodged sheet of metal took out an unsuspecting member. A quick glance down showed that Aikuro had stripped down his disguise completely, although he had thankfully kept his pants on as he spoke into a microphone, his voice sounding from out the trunk. Ryosuke was less than impressed.

"What the hell do you what, mystery asshole?"

"Well, as much as I'd like to avoid any more violence today, I can't help noticing you were shit-talking my car. You see, she's more than just a pretty face, unlike that monstrosity you've rammed yourself into."

Ryosuke's wheels wobbled, and Ira caught a glimpse of something slick coating the road behind them.

"Our cars might not be the prettiest girls, but at least they'll keep going and going until they get the job done. Just look at your junker old man, it's not been five miles, and she's already on her last legs! And don't even get me started on this loser with his scooter!"

"But that's wrong!"

The club's laughter was extinguished in a second by righteous fury. It seemed for all the world that Ira had grown to twice his size as he loomed over the other drivers, arms folded and his face set in a familiar scowl.

"Clear your ears out and pay attention, members of the Automotive Airsoft Club! A man's car is nothing less than his soul! A culmination of an eighteen-year dream born from infancy! A dream built from the desires to help yourself and others with easy transport and independence! It demands nothing less than every inch of passion in his heart to master the wheel, to attend to every need you didn't even know it could spring on you! To simply beg power from your engines is to create a mockery of that dream! To form such ugly designs of bodywork is an insult to every man on the planet! When we are finished with you, you should beg to the scrap metal left over for being nothing less than complete failures to your vehicles!"

"Well spoken, Mr Gamagoori! And to that end, I must ask, who here is familiar which the adventures of 007?"

Silence reigned from the students, although whether it was from Ira's lambasting or lack of understanding the teacher's reference would be lost to the ages. Nevertheless, Aikuro continued.

"Well then, this should be completely new to you. Naked Shooting Star, anti-capture method! LET'S BEGIN!"

Aikuro jerked the wheel sideways as the faint slick on the ground turned into a torrent, black liquid shining in rainbow brilliance as the Naked Shooting Star began to spin like a top on its own sprayed out oil, coating the Automotive Airsoft Club from every angle and immediately throwing half their numbers from the road, the impact of two of them launching the Spy from Osaka clear into the air, far from the grasp of either party. Before Ira could alert him, Aikuro's beloved car had whipped around to face their opponents, flying in reverse as it launched a grappling claw from the front bumper, pulling the dizzied spy right into Ira's outstretched hand as it righted its course once again. He was quickly stuffed away as Ryosuke cried out in vengeance, the club's cars spawning chains onto their wheels to get back into the fray.

"You think you're the only one with tricks? Automotive Airsoft Club! Tsunami Formation!"

The chains now sprang out from every car, linking up and joining them around their leader across the entire span of the road as two new vehicles fitted with massive turbine engines locked on at the very back, the formation quickly making up the lost ground with an almighty roar and blinding flames. Within seconds, it was ramming the back of the Naked Shooting Star, a red aura shielding them from Ira's attempts to blast away the front ranks. As he regretted not bringing along his heavier artillery, Ryosuke began his taunts anew.

"You see this, Ira Gamagoori? Cause we're not even getting started yet!"

Sparks became fires under each and every car as they slowly rose into the air, curling over the Naked Shooting Star and threatening to crush them beneath the twisted metal as every member began firing down on them once more, Ira shielding the spy from harm as Aikuro forced every horse out of the engine, foot planted firmly to the floor.

"Alright, I guess it's time to use it then!"

"Use what?"

The answer came in the form of the roof stripping away completely, the space where the back seats should have been opening up to reveal a heavy duty missile battery. Ira didn't need telling twice as he grabbed the reins of the weapon, aiming into the heart of the formation at the club president, who had just enough time to curse before the entire formation was turned into a raging fireball. The heat was upon them for mere seconds, the Naked Shooting Star bursting free from the firestorm in a smoking husk of its former glory, spinning wildly in the air until it came down like a skipping stone, bouncing once, twice, three times on the tarmac and launching off the motorway.

* * *

The cleaning was finally completed, which Satsuki was currently defining as "we can sit down on something that isn't a dead Life Fiber now," as she enjoyed a cup of tea. All the rags had folded up and placed into the corner where Nonon and her pet were currently staring off into space. From her empty expression, you'd think the girl had never been forced to sleep rough before. But Satsuki's attempts to shift her companion would have to wait as a great crash of metal and stone shook the makeshift base of operations, instantly pulling Nonon out of her shock as both girls drew weapons.

"You think it's REVOCS?"

"Unlikely. No-one should know we're here. Even if the worst case scenario happened with Ira, he would not betray our location."

"So then what the hell was that?"

Satsuki instantly regretted not setting up a surveillance network before making the place liveable. A sloppy mistake that now left them vulnerable. She bit down on her lip.

"I'll make my way up and investigate. Stay down here for the time being, I will rectify my mistake."

Nonon gave a double-blink of confusion.

"Mistake, what mis- hey, wait up!"

Satsuki was already headed to the surface, Bakuzan-Prime in hand. The stairs led to a second trap door outside the mansion, not that there was much left of it. The ruins had been brought down completely by a burning wreck of twisted metal, three figures standing before it with hands clasped in reverence and respect. And like that the danger had passed, although Satsuki would have more than a few questions for the three.

"So, I trust the scouting mission went as well as expected."

Ira Gamagoori unlocked his gauntleted fingers and turned to her, the boy in chains and the man dressed in nought but his underwear following suit.

"It has been quite the afternoon my lady. I will explain everything at your earliest convenience."

"Starting by explaining why you, a member of Nudist Beach and a One-Star Student are praying to a car I trust?"

"As he said, Miss Kiryuin, it's has been quite the afternoon."

**NUDIST BEACH SPLENDID NAKED OFFICER – AIKURO MIKISUGI**

**P.S – HIS INSURANCE ISN'T COVERING THIS**

"What?"


	4. Yesterday

Naturals Elections: A Kill La Kill Fanfiction

AN: A quick note. If at any point, you find yourself thinking that the timeline isn't making sense from year-to-year, feel free to tell me. I only just got it into my head to write down a tangible series of events. Also, man do I hate writing Mako and Nonon. Just as well the next chapter doesn't focus on one of these characters, huh?

Chapter 4: Yesterday

**TWO YEARS AGO – HONNOUJI ACADEMY**

"So, you're taking off?"

"I have to. My work is completed here. The academy is built and staffed, just as mother requested. Just as you asked. By my estimates, REVOCS' teenage lines will meet the projected profits within about six months. Something to keep the shareholders happy I'm sure. "

Ryuko's worn-in trainers squeaked awkwardly against the pavement as her sister searched for the right words. But Satsuki was the smart one, not her. The one who should have been getting ready to lord over the pigs in human clothing, not her. Ryuko couldn't even tell you what a shareholder was, let alone why one would ever wish to please it.

"Well, you know… I'm sure mum will take notice now. I mean… she's got to, right?"

For reasons only understood by the older sister, Ryuko had always been the favoured daughter. Even Nui, psychotic little ball of energy she was tended to get more affection than the eldest Kiryuin child. Ryuko continued, unsure if her attempts could clear the frown from Satsuki's face.

"Hell, I bet the first thing she does is move you onto some bigger job in the company, so you can gain more experience and stuff, instead of just being some empty-headed twit who's got good grades but nothing to back it up."

Which might have been an excellent point, except for the fact that Ryuko was oblivious to her position as chief inheritor to the Kiryuin estate and the conglomerate over which it presided, a fact that her older sister had been made every much aware of over the years. And whilst Satsuki hated rewarding misguided effort she conceded to giving Ryuko a small smile, a show of faith instantly magnified on her sister's face.

"I'm sure she'll do just that."

A car had been scheduled to pick her up, but Satsuki would be making the best effort to avoid getting into it. As such, her phone rang and she answered the silence on the other end.

"Satsuki Kiryuin. Yes? Of course, I'll be there shortly."

She turned back to Ryuko, giving a small nod to Soroi as he pocketed the other phone behind her back.

"It seems the pick-up point has been rearranged due to traffic. I'll be walking down to meet my ride."

"Right, sure."

Ryuko bit down on her tongue, trying not to cry in front of her sister. It would be an unworthy display for a Kiryuin to make, even in spite of her circumstances. She was being left to run an entire academy by herself for god's sake! Well, not completely by herself. Her elder sister had seen fit to appoint three boys she'd never met before to be her assistants and elite guard. Sanageyama seemed cool at least, considering that he'd already agreed to a kendo match with her and shared her penchant for delinquency. The other two could take a long walk of Honnouji's shortest pier though; the combination of the data freak and the giant with the stick up his arse was likely to drive her nuts in no time. She put the bastards out her mind for the time being and held her arms out for a hug, a gap Satsuki gladly filled.

"Alright, try to not start too many fights in my absence and be good for Soroi. I'll be back to check in as soon as I can."

A hollow lie, but one Ryuko accepted without difficulty, nodding into Satsuki's chest. With a long breath she pulled away, as if she was done trying to prolong the enviable.

"I'll see you soon."

"Of course. Keep an eye her for me, will you Soroi?"

"It will be my honour, Lady Satsuki."

And with that the goodbyes were finished. A light peck on her sister's forehead and Satsuki was on her way, Bakuzan rubbing against her suitcase keeping time with the click of high heels as she faded into the thrum of midday Tokyo and out of Ryuko's memories.

**ESTATE OF RYUKO KIRYUIN – PRESENT DAY**

**TWO DAYS UNTIL THE NATURALS ELECTION**

To anyone who knew of her, it would likely be quite the surprise that Ryuko Kiryuin was an early bird. Most would have fingered her for the type to stay in as long as possible, forced into the waking world by a flurry of snatched blankets or a bucket of water. But each and every dawn she would awake bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, for the Life Fibers were calling to her. Each beat of her heart called her to the rear of her home, each cell in her body begging to greet the morning rays. She knew this, and accepted it. Life Fibers were creatures that lived on the energy of others, and so it made perfect sense for them to want to feed on the sun's arrival. It was almost a ritual for her. Go to the back of the house, park herself on the wooden bench, spread her arms and legs and show the dawn her full morning glory. Breakfast for the soul. In time, when the sunlight was not swallowing her as she devoured it, she would retreat back to the house to shower and bind herself to Junketsu, solemnly keeping watch over her bed.

_"__Were you having a pleasant dream?"_

His deep voice resonated in her chest and mind, a voice only she could speak with.

"I suppose. More of a memory. The day Satsuki left."

_"__Ah, we see."_

Well, he didn't, but bless his non-existent heart for trying. Life Fibers had no concept of "family" or "loved ones". You were a Life Fiber, or you were food. Held together by their primordial mother until it was time to feed, they had no need for individual voices, only the collective mind. It was nice, but not a mind-set Ryuko could prescribe to. She much preferred being a singular entity, for as long as she could anyway. Junketsu was company enough in her mind, the ambassador between the two species created by her father before his untimely death. Thought a mindless beast by the pigs that had sealed him away, she had proven that the two could co-exist. For a time anyway, the Life Fibers were still going to eat the earth regardless. And that was fine. Just the natural way of things. The strong ate the weak and survived. One of those things you had to see the big picture to understand, you know? The universe was going to devour itself one day, so what did it matter if a planet or two went missing along the way? The truth of the world really helped you seize the day. Speaking of which…

"Is she up yet?"

_"__Of course not."_

And now for part two of her morning rituals, getting her partner up. Mako Mankanshoku laid tangled up in the remaining covers, drooling and snoring the morning away. After gently unbinding her from the unconscious prison she'd wound herself into, Ryuko leant over and slipped an errant string into her ear. That got her up sharpish, albeit incredibly confused, looking around blindly as she scratched and dug a finger into the intruded area. Junketsu snorted.

_"__We still don't understand why she gets your blood running so."_

_"__And you never will Jun."_

Breakfast was made in an hour and consumed in a minute to the sound of the radio and girlish laughter. It was a scene that wouldn't have been witnessed a year ago, and had one been in the household they might question how the relationship had evolved to such a point. As the one in that sentence, Junketsu naturally asked the question.

_"__I dunno."_

_"__Wonderful. Very well then, second question."_

_"__More? Well aren't we curious this morning."_

_"__Your paramour left that "romantic" movie running last night. As such, we've decided to question you on the nature of human relationships based on our observations."_

_"__Why?"_

_"__We believe that we've learned the human emotion of boredom, and wish to be rid of it. We blame you entirely."_

_"__I could always stop ironing you, you know."_

_"__Please! Anything but that!"_

_"__So, what's your question anyway?"_

Junketsu cleared his "throat" and tried to forget the human emotion of embarrassment.

_"__Considering the fact that the human known as Mako Mankanshoku has the unique ability to control the way your blood quickens and calms, and considering your obvious desires, why have you not procreated with her yet?"_

Ryuko choked on her coffee, causing the subject of one of the two conversations she was having to stop the other one and pet her back until she'd regained control of her lungs.

_"__Jesus Christ Jun, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"_

_"__It's a perfectly reasonable request."_

_"__Okay, first off, when it's two girls, it ain't "procreating", it's fucking."_

_"__Fine, why are you not fucking with her yet?"_

_"__Because."_

_"__Because?"_

_"__Because it's none of your business, that's why."_

_"__Nonsense. We are two creatures in one body, everything that is your business becomes ours, and vice versa."_

"Ryuko, it's time to go!"

And so Ryuko dodged a bullet as Junketsu transformed into his more natural form at the cost of Ryuko's pockets. She refused to answer any more questions as they flew to the academy.

* * *

She knew why she hadn't slept with Mako despite an on-again, off-again year of shared accommodation and six months of mutual feelings, but like hell she'd admit it to anyone other than herself. The kendo stick pulped Maiko's mouth as she punished the disgraced Three-Star, two of the elites looking on stoically as she broke the weapon over her head, screaming a list of failures to the tune of excuses. Mako's eyes were on the ground as Ryuko stomped back over to her throne, throwing the shattered hilt by way of a final punishment at the Disciplinary Chair.

"Inumuta, tell me you traced the fucking licence plate."

Ira Gamagoori had destroyed the Automotive Airsoft Club and escaped with the uniform thief thanks to some mystery arsehole and his sweet ride. Which had understandably ruined Ryuko's good mood. The data loving bastard adjusted his glasses in a move scientifically calculated to make her want to punch his stupid face.

"We have, but you won't be pleased with the results." He said, handing over a slip of paper. Ryuko scanned it quickly.

"So, we're looking for a Drew P. Wiener."

Once she was done giving Inumuta enough bruising to match his girlfriend's (ha, it was funny because he hated her and she didn't know it), She'd sent the pair downstairs to patch up their wounds, and forced Uzu to go with them to get a little more private time with Mako. Selfish? Yes, but like hell she cared. Uncalled for? Well, she was getting a gentle reprehend as she squeezed the girl like an oversized teddy bear.

"Ryuko, don't you think that was kind of mean?"

"They'll live. Maiko's always planning to bump me off anyway, so it's not like she needed another excuse."

"But… they're our friends. Even if Inumuta never gets off his laptop or goes outside, and even though you and Maiko are always yelling at each other, they still help us run the school, right?"

There was a shot of pure silence, followed by a groan as Ryuko did her best to avoid rolling her eyes into the back of her head. She didn't know what it was about Mako's simple way of looking at things that made a tight coil wind up in her guts whenever she told her off.

"Fine, fine. Go down to that bakery Maiko doesn't think we know about and get her some of those weird little cakes she likes. As for the dog… I dunno, get him a picture of a motherboard or something, see if I care. And don't tell them I had anything to do with this."

Mako popped off her position on Ryuko's knee, a sunny smile on her face as she saluted.

"Aye-aye Ryuko!"

And with a farewell kiss on her girlfriend's nose, she bounced out the room, leaving Ryuko to slouch in the darkness of the student council chambers.

* * *

"And that's the rundown of everything that's happened since your departure. Once a month, the entirety of Honnouji and the greater Tokyo area lose their minds and battle to the death for Ryuko's pleasure. Even if one doesn't make it into the Elite Four, the rewards for just making it into the Sudden Death Runoff draw a number of unsavoury types into the mix. One of our own agents has spent the past three months participating, it's providing excellent funding"

Aikuro's pointer snapped against the remnants of Dr Matoi's old whiteboard, where he'd spent most of the morning detailing Ryuko's reign over Honnouji. Satsuki sipped her tea, noting with some displeasure that she was the only one in the small collective to have even touched her cup. One cup had even been left to steam alone, the Osakan spy having fled back to his master in the Takaradas after some helpful advice from Satsuki about how to avoid the Disciplinary Forces. She didn't know what the boy had been complaining for, as taking a thirty mile walk north to find the only train station that wouldn't be monitored so he could catch a train that would have to only change twice before his destination seemed a worthwhile sacrifice to make it home unmolested by Kiryuin forces. But he had whined all the way out the door, ignoring Satsuki's advise that the trip that would be over in no time with a little resolve. She sighed into her teacup. This was why she had to save the world from her mother. The sad fact was there was simply no-one else willing to go as far as she would to see the mission though. She paused mid-sip, watching as Ira lent forward, the makeshift table creaking under his weight.

_"Well, maybe I'm not the only one."_

"The spy mentioned something about a Safe Zone. Do you have any information on that?"

Aikuro flicked his luscious hair backwards in a completely pointless manoeuvre. Nonon wisely chose to shuffle closer to Satsuki as the room was bathed in purple.

"Mako Mankanshoku!"

"Who?"

Aikuro withdrew a picture from behind his back and tossed it over to the trio. A girl in a Three-Star uniform was shown directing students about, a smile on her face in spite of the desolation around her.

"A mystery wrapped in a puzzle bound in an enigma. She appeared from nowhere about a year or so ago, taking on non-athletic clubs that had previously been under Uzu Sanageyama. Stranger still was the fact she has never been seen in the Naturals Elections before or after, causing many to call Ryuko out on her inclusion in the elites. To this day, she has yet to answer the accusations."

Ira took up the picture, the photo tiny between his fingertips.

"She must have been brought on after Ryuko expelled me, I can't remember seeing her before."

"That's the thing; no-one seems to have known her before she put on a Goku uniform. Stranger still is the knock-on effect from her inclusion in the ranks of the elite, which is where the Safe Zone comes in. Mr Gamagoori, you remember the state of things at the time of your expulsion?"

"More or less the same as they are now, except Ryuko seems to have reigned in her lieutenants a little."

"Actually, since your departure, the number of deaths in the Naturals Elections has halved."

"WHAT!"

Ira made to shake the room in his surprise, stilled only by Satsuki's hand on his wrist.

"And this Mankanshoku girl is responsible?"

"The Safe Zone was built and remained via the allowance Ryuko hands down to her elites. The slums facing the open sea were repurposed into what can be called the new No-Star housing area. Each Naturals Election, students of all ranks can have their loved ones placed within the walls to protect them from the fighting."

Satsuki took a sip of her tea, prompting Ira to drain his cup in one sudden movement. As the Toad's tongue would be curling up on itself from the next minute or so, Nonon took his place in the discussion.

"Okay, but if all the students are fighting for positions, who the hell looks after the place? It can't be that safe."

"Not all students seek the high ranks Ms Jakuzure. Surprisingly, this place does still manage to operate as a school from time to time. The Safe Zone is managed by volunteers, about a hundred members of the student body at last count. Before that, Mankanshoku held the line single-handedly. Which isn't the surprising thing, considering she's a Three-Star. No, what continues to surprise the student body is that not one man who has assaulted the Safe Zone has died by her hands."

* * *

"Hey guys!"

Two pairs of bespectacled eyes glared at her as she entered the room. Uzu must have still been full of morphine from his earlier spar with Ryuko because he just kept staring at the ceiling. Mako wouldn't bother him as the swordsman was in a happier place right now, and she had two others to help.

"What, she send you down to make me feel worse?"

Maiko's glare was promptly wiped away in surprise by the box stuffed into her arms, Mako beaming all the while.

"Ryuko wants to let you know she's sorry, but don't let her know I told you that, okay?"

Maiko opened her mouth to retort, closed it, opened it again and decided her time would be better spent eating a pastry, offering one of Inumuta, who accepted it with a sigh, which was good. Maiko liked Inumuta, even if Inumuta didn't know about it, so Mako did everything in her power to help them get along. Boys could be silly like that sometimes. She didn't know too much about computers, so she produced the magazines she'd found in the shop next to the bakery. They all looked techy and junk, so he'd probably like them. But it looked like his arms were still sore from Ryuko getting upset, as he couldn't even take them from her! Luckily, there was a table in the student council medical bay for her to set them down on.

"Hey, nothing for me?"

Oh, Uzu was back from la-la land.

"Sorry Uzu, I'll get you something next time! Like ice cream!"

The swordsman chuckled, tussling her bob-cut.

"Ah, don't worry about it, I'm sure Ryuko will give me another rematch as soon as I'm patched up."

And with that he headed towards the door, only to stop as Mako caught his sleeve.

"Uzu, please try not to fight with Ryuko as much. I know you two are always having fun, but it isn't fun when you get hurt so badly, you know?"

There was another chuckle from the swordsman as he loosened her hand.

"Don't worry too much about it; I'm tougher than I look. Besides, I think Ryuko'll give me some time off if the Historical Re-enactment Clubs and the Espionage Society fail to find Gamagoori. Anyway, I'll you guys later."

And with that, he was off, leaving Mako sighing in the doorway. Ira Gamagoori. Ryuko had spent the better part of last night throwing darts at a picture of his face, but Mako remembered the previous committee chair fondly. He had been strict, but fair, like an old mentor in a samurai film, the kind that ended up dying to inspire the hero to do justice. Wait… if that had been Gamagoori's job, and now Maiko had his job…

"Maiko! Please don't die! No-one needs inspiring that badly, even if things have been a little down lately!"

"What."

* * *

"Well, it's getting late, I'd better be heading back before someone notices I'm missing for too long."

"Surely you've been missed for today, considering you didn't even bother to call in sick."

Aikuro chuckled as he ran a hand through now shaggy locks. He'd able to nick one of Dr Matoi's old shirts and trousers with the intent of hitchhiking his way back to Honnouji. He leant in closer to Nonon then she would have liked, the borrowed shirt already splitting apart again.

"Thank you for the concern Ms Jakuzure, but truth be told, my attendance record is so poor that one more day off isn't going to kill me."

He leant in to kiss her hand, stopped by the hiss of Marika the robot monkey from her master's shoulder, who seemed to be aping her master's feelings towards the faux-teacher, who laughed off the attack.

"Worth a shot. Well then, here's to continued co-operation."

Satsuki similarly avoided the attempted kiss, pushing Aikuro back with one finger.

"Quite. We'll be looking into the affairs of this Mankanshoku for the time being. Thank you for the information."

And with that stinted farewell, Aikuro Mikisugi made his way into the dust of the highway, the trio of Life Fiber Hunters returning to their temporary abode. Satsuki broke the silence first.

"Nonon, I trust that you've tracked the spy so far?"

From the impossible space of her cat suit, Nonon pulled out a tablet more suited to commuter travelling than freedom fighting, tracing a few swipes over the screen.

"Vital signs say he's passed out. I can't say for his location but I think it's safe to say that the idiot made it to his train, although he's probably going to miss his stop. You sure he won't remember this place or us?"

"I laced his drink appropriately. It is a necessary skill."

As with most days, Nonon found herself very happy to not be Satsuki's enemy any more. The Toad nodded understandingly, his obnoxious armour rattling with the motion.

"That would explain his grimace when he sipped his tea. There must have been a lingering taste."

Over at the table, Satsuki frowned, and Nonon prayed to various deities that she wouldn't follow that train of thought and discover that the tea she was so proud of was bitterer than an old maid on Valentine's Day. On the other hand, maybe she'd stop making it five times a day, which would only be a good thing.

"Nonon, you haven't touched your cup."

The silence returned with a vengeance as Nonon searched for a decent lie.

"Err… I must have forgotten about it while we were getting caught up. I mean, that guy certainly liked the sound of his own voice, you know?"

One didn't make it through a lifetime of dog-eat-dog, high-handed schooling without learning to keep secrets from other girls, now did they? Satsuki seemed to except the answer, draining the cup herself.

"Very well, I'll simply make a second whilst we review the plan for this afternoon."

That was probably the fastest example of karma bouncing back that Nonon had ever seen, groaning into her hands as Satsuki gathered up the tea making equipment and headed for the lake.


	5. Suffragette City

Naturals Election: A Kill La Kill Fanfiction

Chapter 5: Suffragette City

Ira Gamagoori was troubled. And even if Satsuki hadn't been traveling with the man for almost a year now, she would have easily picked up his distress by noting the way the work bench before her vibrated each time he took a step in his endless pacing. She hadn't noted down a single even sentence in the last half an hour. Sparing the shoddy penmanship a frown, she turned in her chair to face her long-time companion and partner as he began another round of pacing.

"Ira."

The lines on his forehead snapped away instantly as he snapped to attention.

"Y-yes My Lady? I'm sorry, was I disturbing you?"

Well, yes, but there was a more pressing issue before that.

"Ira, my name."

He slapped a broad hand to his face.

"Right, of course. Yes, Lady Satsuki?"

One of these days he'd come around to the idea that they were equals and friends in the battle against Life Fibers and use her name without honorifics as she did his. It seemed today was not that day, but Satsuki let it drop for the time being.

"Something is bothering you. Have you grown so used to Nonon's presence that her absence disturbs you so?"

Maybe one day she'd learn how to tell a joke. As it was, Ira took two more steps before sinking into a rickety chair as gingerly as his mass would allow him, one leg each side with the back of the chair facing her.

"Sending her in to enemy territory alone is a risky move, but Nonon has proven herself to be more than capable in the past."

His head sagged onto folded arms, staring at the floor.

"No, something else is bothering me. I mean no offence Lady Satsuki, but… Ryuko Kiryuin."

Ah, so that was it. Satsuki waited as the man gathered his words. Each time he spoke her sister's name it came out more venomous than the last.

"Ryuko Kiryuin, slacker extraordinaire. Ryuko Kiryuin, a girl who took what was supposed be a fortress for humanity and turned into a den of Life Fibers. Ryuko Kiryuin, who sets students of all ages against each other for blood sport. Ryuko Kiryuin, who flayed my back and cast me out without a stitch of clothing for the crime of demanding she stop. Ryuko Kiryuin, a psychotic, murderous, foul-mouthed savage with no regards for anyone other than herself and her own pleasure… and I'm supposed to believe this girl now allows a place of safety away from the fires of her own madness within her own walls, all thanks to someone no-one has ever heard of or about until this very morning?"

Satsuki had no words of comfort. She had not heard one herself since her father had passed away thirteen years ago and even she did, she had purged any softness from herself when he had left her life. She could not reach out and comfort physically, the act would be hollow and meaningless. And every other thought that reached her lips died there in a rare moment of remorse.

"Ira, I have no explanation for what has occurred. I would offer my apologies if you would take them. Had I known Ryuko…"

She trailed off, because that was a lie. She had known the second that she'd walked away from Honnouji that Ryuko's moods would only be influenced by her mother and Nui. She'd prayed that the position of responsibility and the three confidents of a like-minded friend, an authority figure and someone to shoulder the technical work would ease her into becoming her own person. Her sister was now a tyrant, and she was to blame for abandoning her rather than strike a tougher route, even if she risked her life in the process. Her year of exile had barely been of use to her plans, and the end of the world drew closer with each company and country REVOCS brought up. Satsuki bit down her lip, drawing blood. No. Thoughts like these would do no good to her or the world. She rose from her seat, and a third party might have noticed the lamp on her work bench brighten a little.

"Ira, I cannot take back my mistakes. But I swear to you I shall amend them. Honnouji can still be brought back to its true path. We can still save the world. And if I must cut down my own sister to do so, I will."

**HONNO CITY SAFE ZONE**

**TWO DAYS UNTIL THE NATURALS ELECTION**

It was a bright Saturday afternoon, which meant Saturday lessons had finished for the day and the streets were filled with students of all stars. Given the Toad's doomsday warnings about the horrors of Honnouji Academy, Nonon had expected to find bodies piled up in the streets and the people tearing the flesh from each other's bones. And whilst it seemed the people here were on edge, as if waiting assault at any time, the Safe Zone was nowhere near as bad as the slums she'd had to walk through to get her. Nonon suppressed a shudder from behind her menu of cheap coffees. The smell and destruction had been one thing, but the absolute silence has quickened her feet with every step. Getting in had been easy enough as they let anyone seeking sanctuary within – no doubt one of Mankanshoku's policies. The simple disguise of a black wig and contacts combined with some of her older clothes was serving her well, and for the first time in half a year she was almost feeling… normal.

As if she hadn't run away with the enemy of everything she'd been taught to love.

As if she hadn't been part of raids on textile factories and shipping depots.

As if she hadn't fought Nudists back and forth all across Osaka.

As if she hadn't been forced to make like a bear in the woods more times than she would have liked.

It wouldn't last, but for now she'd enjoy a little civilisation for once, feeling the hum of Marika's engine within her beret. She did have a reason for wasting time, anyway. Hanging around housewives and other teenagers had greased the rumour mill up to full speed, and rumours almost always had a hint of truth to them. But in actual information she'd brought up a bumper crop. Apparently Mankanshoku was coming down personally to bring in supplies for all the poor people, and the folks here liked to roll out the red carpet when she did. Which made sense considering that this was her neck of the woods. And so Nonon would sip milky coffee and watch as banners and buntings were put out, and await her target.

* * *

Five cups, three trips to the bathroom (a proper one, thank God) and the entirety of all her tablet based reading material used up later, and she finally got her payoff as the crowds that had been slowly expanding ever since she'd sat down roared approval to the sound of a convoy pulling up just inside the gates. It only got louder as the girl exited the lead vehicle, waving to the crowd in earnest with a big smile. Nonon couldn't help wondering if Mako was the face of Honnouji. An easy to like figure that would keep riots at bay and keep the government from looking in to REVOCS' cruelties? She certainly looked like the kind of kind-hearted sap that could be trotted out obliviously to make the papers. Nonon paused behind a family, ignoring the kid who pointed excitedly at her squirming headgear. Marika was still programmed to behave like a pet after all; the noise must have set her off. A hand on her head sorted that out quick as Nonon kept watching Mako Mankanshoku, trying to figure what was bothering her about the girl as she went up and down and all around the crowds, shaking every hand and kissing every baby presented to her almost at once as people bleed out to go help the One-Star forces with bringing in box after box of goods. A few minutes later, and she got it. The girl wasn't faking. Nonon had seen false cheer and goodwill plenty of times, even given out her fair share over the years to cloying underclassmen and obnoxious family members, but this girl was going full out all the time and fully embracing every hand that found hers, every teary-eyed family and spluttering elder. Did she have no sense of shame or personal space? If this was for publicity, this was going above and beyond the call of duty. Given half a chance, the crowds would probably start kissing her feet and building statues of her. Worse still was the constant cheer, as if the city wasn't ruled by a-

Nonon was so caught up in trying to decipher the Three-Star that she didn't notice the hand on her mouth until the squeak had escaped her own lips, some skinny bastard dragging her into a dark corner. In the middle of board daylight no less, which meant that it was either a really ballsy pervert, or her disguise wasn't working out as well she hoped. Either way, this was going to get bloody. But before she could let Marika loose:

"Wait!"

The crowd split like a biblical sea, a straight path between Nonon, her attacker and Mako Mankanshoku, striding forward with the closest thing to a frown the girl could muster. Her assailant cursed under his breath as he removed his hand from her mouth, moving his arm over her throat to keep her pinned.

**HONNOUJI ACADEMY SECRET POLICE CLUB PRESIDENT – SHUSEI KOGAMI**

"How can I help you, Lady Mankanshoku?"

Nonon wasn't quite sure how what happened next actually occurred. One second fingers were trying to jimmy the bastard's arm off her, the next she was standing behind Mako, the Thee-Star pointing at her assailant.

"The rules of the Safe Zone are clear! No violence against anyone who makes it their home! As decreed by Ryuko… err… Lady Ryuko!"

The Two-Star scratched his chin, his pitch-black uniform having given him five o' shadow no teenaged boy could achieve in their wildest fantasies. A rummage in the pockets of his trenchcoat delivered a series of photos showing everything Nonon had done in the past hour, which mostly consisted of her sitting at a table.

"This girl is under examination by the Espionage Society and us, the Secret Police club. Upon entering the Safe Zone, her first course of action was to wait at a coffee shop until your arrival for the past hour, instead of registering for accommodation. We believe her to be another Osakan Spy, and in accordance with the new measures laid out by Lady Ogure and Lady Kiryuin, we will be detaining her."

Mako threw her arm out defiantly.

"No way! I've been in every council meeting, and I've not heard about any of this!"

"The decree was passed now to us by Lady Ogure this morning, as part of new emergency measures to help combat enemies of Honnouji. Lady Mankanshoku, I must ask you stand aside and take it up with your fellow elites later."

Nonon shifted uncomfortably despite herself and all the eyes on her. The situation was getting too dicey, and she made to lie like a champ before it turned really ugly.

"I was waiting!"

Both faces turned to her, Mako looking a little heartbroken until Nonon locked away her pride and enveloped the elite's hands with hers, opening her eyes as wide as she could to look every bit the scruffy orphan.

"My name's Yayoi Kunizuka, I used to live in Tokyo. My parents were killed in the last Naturals Election and I've been homeless since then. But I heard that there was a place where even people like me could wash up in, and so I came here. But I was never expecting it to be so wonderful, so when I heard the person responsible was coming down to bring even more miracles; I just had to meet her!"

For the maximum amount of cheesy dialogue she pulled Mankanshoku into a hug, burying her face into the shoulder. From what she had seen of Mankanshoku there was no way she'd refuse.

"Thank you, Lady Mankanshoku!"

The cry was echoed by the crowd, again and again in waves all around. Shusei was suddenly looking less sure of his position as those that weren't praising her name were calling for him to leave, a few citizens even working up the courage to throw stones. Nonon smiled into the shoulder. High-Handed High School drama lessons were useful for more than just putting on a fake smile. Mankanshoku took her by the arms and pulled her out, her eyes swimming in huge, blotchy tears. It seemed like the girl really was a big-hearted sap, and she swallowed the whole affair hook, line and sinker. Perfect.

"Don't worry." She said, patting Nonon's beret. "I'll keep you safe."

She turned and wiped away her own tears in one movement, and from the reactions of the crowd you'd think flowers were about to sprout from the patches where they landed.

"If Maiko or Ryuko want to take anyone from the Safe Zone, they will come see me about it first! This is a peaceful place, and I will defend it and everyone who lives within it! Shusei Kogami, you are dismissed!"

The crowd roared even louder as the Secret Police leader (who was clearly new to the job if he was just up and telling people his department existed) muttered into his collar. It seemed Mankanshoku wasn't going to get rid of him or his allies that easily. At that moment, a series of smoke bombs detonated, the crowds scattering as Mankanshoku looked to and thro desperately. Nonon drew a yo-yo from one pocket of her street clothes. She couldn't swing a katana as quickly as Satsuki and had none of Ira's raw strength, but she'd found on her travels that she had a hand for putting trinkets and gadgets together. The yo-yo's string was a carbon filament, and the main device filled with a small motor to extend and withdraw it at the twitch of a finger. Combined with the tiny blades along the rim of the yo-yo, she could tear apart a pack of COVERS like nothing. She hadn't been able to bring her full assemble of gear, so all she could do was look for shadows in the smoke and hope that what she'd been able to stuff into her pockets was enough. Her question was quickly answered as five black-suited boys leapt out from the right, only for Nonon to hook the leg of the furthest right one with the string and whip him sideways, taking the group out in one swing. From behind her came a continuous stream of intelligible noise combined with a multitude of pained cries and the impact of a thousand punches. Mankanshoku had vanished from sight, leaving Nonon to keep snapping this way and that until the smoke cleared, leaving no point of attack unsurveyed. A flash lit up the grey, Nonon spinning to find the source.

"Shit, you noticed me?"

**ESPIONAGE SOCIETY PRESIDENT – TOMOMI GINOZA**

"You know, for two clubs that should probably never be heard from, you guys sure make a lot of noise."

The second president had vanished into the fading smoke before she could follow that snark up with some retribution. Nonon whipped off her beret.

"Marika, time to go scavenging for nuts!"

Marika launched from her head and immediately bolted off down an alley as the smoke cleared completely, leaving only three others standing near Nonon. And a whole lot face down. Mankanshoku had to have been surrounded by at least two hundred unconscious students, all stripped of their uniforms while she remained unscathed. A hazy purple mist hung by her shoulder, putting the fear of God into her opponents despite its lack of form. Two club presidents faced her down, both transformed. Shusei Kogami was dressed like a cyberpunk detective, the student at his side a hodgepodge of history. Some idiot had decided that the looks of British Grenadiers, pirates, samurai, cowboys and Indians, Knights of the Round Table and ninjas had yet to be brought together, and so had combined as many eras of history as he could into one outfit. Needless to say, he looked ridiculous, as impressive as dual-wielding an executioner's axe and a musket was.

**HISTORICAL RE-ENACTMENT CLUB PRESIDENT – MOMOGA MATSUMOTO**

The purple haze from Mankanshoku's shoulder vanished, the elite exhaling in a manner that didn't sound the least bit tired.

"If you want, we just stop now. I can talk to Maiko and Ryuko, tell them that this was all just a misunderstanding. You won't have clubs left if you keep going."

The two students shared a look, shook their heads as they levelled musket and handgun at the Elite.

"Maybe you can get away with failing Ryuko, but she'll have our heads if we flee."

"And I'd be a disgrace if I failed to hold the line, me hearty!"

Seriously, pick a time period and an accent and stick with it. It wasn't hard. There was a screech Nonon knew all too well as the third president came back on the scene, Marika fast on his tail with tattered cloth lodged in her fangs. Looked like she'd found the target perfectly. Before he could change course, Nonon whipped out her yo-yo again, wrapping it around a lamppost to trip the Two-Star and send him flying. The other two recovered from the shock of his arrival and fired point-blank at Mankanshoku, who just sighed in response.

"I'm sorry."

The shots were swallowed up by the purple mist seconds before Mankanshoku punched through it, knocking the boys' heads together and sending them flying towards their co-conspirator with a roundhouse kick, the three clashing together in a mid-air Life Fibre explosion.

**WHAM, BAM, THANK YOU MA'AM!**

The danger over, Nonon called Marika back to her shoulder. It was clear she'd have to leave ASAP, there was no way Mankanshoku hadn't noticed her part in the melee.

"Yayoi."

Who? Oh right, her. Nonon raised her yo-yo in defence, Marika preparing herself for another attack as Mankanshoku padded closer, the mist once again gone from sight.

"Although, that's not your name, is it?"

Nonon just shook her head, wondering where she was going with this.

"And you are a spy?"

"Not exactly."

Mankanshoku was already calling in people to deal with the three wounded clubs, keeping Nonon fixed in her vision.

"I'm going to ask once. Please leave, and don't come back. This is a safe place, I just want to keep it that way."

"A safe place your leader let her secret police into. She wasn't even subtle about it, they were actually called secret police!"

"I know Ryuko's done some bad things, but she's getting better!"

Mankanshoku's eyes were full of tears again, sadder ones this time.

"Every day she smiles a little more. Good smiles, not the creepy ones. Even when she gets angry, she calms down quicker! And people like you just set her back, make her angry! So please, just leave! Because I'm going to protect her and this place for as long as I can, no matter who comes here!"

Nonon could feel her jaw dropping at the nonsense spilling from the girl's mouth. There was naivety, and there was… this.

"You're as mad as she is if you think you'll change anything here."

"I can! I will! Because I'm a Mankanshoku, and I know what I want, and how to get it, and I'm too determined to let it go now! She and I are going to make this a proper school again, where people can be happy and live without cares!"

Silence reigned, as Nonon gave up on a fight she hadn't been too invested in in the first place. Mankanshoku said one last thing as she passed her by.

"Who are you anyway? Did the guy with all the money send you?"

Nonon thought on her response a second, but she already knew what to say.

"In Heaven's stead, I smite clothing."

She clearly didn't understand, but nodded anyway.

"I like your monkey."

Nonon adjusted her beret to cover her eyes, keeping them to the ground as she paced away.

"Thanks."

* * *

"There is something else to be considered."

"Which is?

"As much as I hate to admit it, the Naturals Elections may be of some use to us when we take back the academy. The students I faced seemed too strong for Two-Stars. One of them even bared a second transformation, albeit one that used other uniforms to form it."

"You believe the continuous fighting has strengthened the students?"

"Indeed, and their uniforms. Shiro will have undoubtedly been forced into creating stronger models."

"My thoughts exactly. The Naturals Elections may yet become a double-edged sword to strike Ryuko and REVOCS with."

* * *

Maiko was damn near ecstatic, so much so she didn't even care that two of her finest clubs had been completely dismantled by the girl kneeling before the iron throne of the student council chambers. Another spy had wormed their way in, and the idiot had aided them completely! Wanted posters were already going up, but it was likely that they would be useless and that the intruder had already escaped, given that the hair found at the scene of the crime was synthetic. But it was all worth it to watch the queen bitch struggle with the realisation that she'd have to punish the lover she was pretending not to have. Glorious, glorious retribution! After what felt like an eternity of waiting, Ryuko took her head from her hands, rising from her chair with a shinai readied for her at the bottom of the steps.

"Mako, remove your shirt."

The girl did so, letting it slide to the floor to reveal a blue-striped bra. Maiko was going to have to look up exactly what that meant, but she was going to bet it just labelled her a stupid whore. This was nothing she didn't know already, of course. Beside her, the Monkey and Inumuta had closed their eyes to shy away from the girl's disgrace. Part of her wished that they'd offered her the same courtesy in the morning, but Inumuta was probably just making sure he didn't see any indecent parts of the girl. Such a gentleman. Ryuko's graven face showed nothing as she raised the shinai.

"Mako Mankanshoku, you are charged with aiding and abetting an enemy of Honnouji Academy, as well as the unnecessary destruction of three clubs. Do you have anything to say before punishment is delivered?"

"I'm sorry, Ryuko."

Her jaw twitched, her hand flinched. For once in her life, the ruler of Honnouji Academy was reluctant to deliver a beating.

"Well, get on with it then! You weren't so resistant to the idea of beating your elites this morning!"

The glare Ryuko sent her felt like it was purging her down to her very soul, as if she and the room would burst into flames should the other girl will it, and she wanted it to, that much was clear.

"Ogure, shut your damn whore mouth before I ram this and ten others like it down your throat."

Discretion was the better part of valour. Best not to push her luck, she was already getting what she wanted. Ryuko raised her arm again, and brought it to Mako's back with a sickening crack of splintering wood and rent skin. And another. And another. Twenty lashes were dealt out in short order, Mako's sobbing growing louder with each strike to her flesh, until she was nothing but a quivering, bloodied mound prostrating herself on the floor. When the job was done, Ryuko cast the hilt aside and turned the world-burning glare on them again.

"Out. All of you."

Sanageyama and Inumuta had already pulled her from the room before she could come up with another smart comment.

* * *

Ryuko didn't feel bad when she hurt people. They were pigs, worthless animals to be played with, used and broken at her pleasure. But Mako's back was bleeding so terribly, and her crying was so awful to her ears that she could not help but kneel there, holding her beloved and whispering an endless litany of apologises. Life Fibers slipped from her fingers to pull the skin together and absorb the blood. Uzu would send for nurses to patch her up more properly soon, but for now, for once, she would put together what she had broken. She kissed the top of Mako's head again and again with vainglorious hopes that she could ease the pain, but received only gasps and shaking sobs in return. She settled for resting her chin there as she did her work, noticing a picture out the corner of her eye. The sole picture from that afternoon's battle, taken by one of those inept fools. A teenaged girl. Black hair, green eyes, flat as a board. She'd discarded it out of hand before, too disbelieving of Mako's failure, but now it drew her. Why?

_"__Is that not the Jakuzure girl who went missing half a solar cycle or so ago?"_

_"__Junketsu, I could kiss you."_

_"__Please do, some of Mako's blood is still on your lips."_

Nurses scurried in, Ryuko relinquishing Mako to their attentions with a final squeeze of her hand. She would be in good care and Ryuko had a phone call to make. If Jakuzure was back, then she could only be with one person. One back-stabbing, no life, snake in the grass rotten whore. Nui was so going to lose that bet. The phone rang twice before it was picked up on the other end.

"Ragyo Kiryuin's office, how may I help you?"

"Hououmaru, is mum there?"

"Ryuko? This is a surprise. I'm afraid you just missed her, she's gone out to oversee the Adidas sale."

"Can you give her a message when she gets back?"

"Of course, what is it?"

"Tell her that I'm going to need Nui over here."

There was a sigh on the other end of the line.

"Ryuko, you can't…"

"She'll want to send her. I think I've located Jakuzure's missing kid and…"

"And?"

"I think Satsuki's come back to Honnouji Academy."


	6. Monkey Wrench

Naturals Election: A Kill La Kill Fanfiction

Chapter Six: Monkey Wrench

"Right then… Shinai, check."

Obviously, he was going to need those. Four pairs, just in case they broke. And considering his opponent today, he'd likely need spares.

"Goku Uniform in the wash… check."

If she couldn't beat him as he was, there'd be no need for it anyway. Besides, it really needed a scrub.

"Bitching jacket… check."

A long, white leather affair. Hakodate's idea, as it was rather chilly today despite the sun bearing down on Honnouji. Nice girl, shame she was dating the boxing Club President or he'd have snapped her up himself.

"Dog treats… check"

You had to have presents when visiting a lady, after all.

"Now then… where are hiding, Lady Satsuki?"

He closed his eyes, and saw everything.

**MATOI MANSION BASEMENT**

**ONE DAY UNTIL THE NATURALS ELECTION**

"Mako Mankanshoku." Nonon said dully, throwing a plethora of magazines, newspapers and pictures before the breakfasting trio of Life Fiber Hunters, Satsuki immediately throwing herself into them to absorb information. She'd come back from the Safe Zone in rather a bedraggled state the evening before and had spent the night staring off into space, deep in thought other than to note that it would likely be her sole visit into Honnouji until the elections. It seemed the watershed had broken on her thoughts, as once she got started on Ryuko's right hand she barely stopped, even as Ira pottered around placing plates of eggs and bacon before them. Normally she would have complained about the greasy ensemble handed down to her.

"Three Star student in charge of Honnouji's Non-Athletic clubs, Custodian of No-Star students, creator of the Safe Zone, and more or less a saint to everyone who lives there. Like the stripper said, she turned up about a year ago, only for her to not even bother with her duties other than token appearances at student council meetings. But, about six months ago…"

She picked up a scruffy copy of an old school newspaper.

**Mankanshoku declares formation of Safe Zone**

"I was able to dig up a lot of these from the slums. They hold onto them to use as blankets for all the homeless they got down there. Also because it's a complete rag, no-one with any sense would subscribe to it."

Ira quickly flipped away from the funny pages, Nonon rolling her eyes in response.

"Building work took about a week, not that anyone has any idea as to how she pulled it off. Things went pretty much as expected from there. She throws open the doors and only gets a couple of families, because no-one's going to be in the slums with the Naturals Election coming unless they're desperate as hell."

Another newspaper, another headline.

**Gambling Club shortens odds on Safe Zone Survival – 3/1**

So when the Election rolls around with Mankanshoku competing for the first time, everyone who feels cheated by her position, every scavenger who wants the supplies she's dumped into it, every arsehole who just wants to pull it down makes a beeline for her. She's never even used her uniform before, how hard could it be?"

Another newspaper.

**Mankanshoku holds the line and title! Gambling Club bankrupt!**

"Turns out Ryuko put a huge bet on her girl, and it paid off handsomely. They lost track of how many clubs were lost after Mankanshoku was done with them, not to mention all the thugs from out of town she disposed of. It all picks up from there. Mankanshoku pours in more money, more desperate families and One-Stars worried about their parents pitch up, and every month she throws back the hordes, a situation which holds to this day. They damn near worship her down there Satsuki, and she throws herself into the crowds in kind. No-Stars were close to mobbing the Presidents that came after me just because they were giving her funny looks."

Satsuki finished her toast, folding the magazine she'd skimmed through.

"Did you get read on her strength, the power of her uniform?"

Nonon shook her head.

"Only the aftermath. I was too busy with goons to get a good look, and the place was full of smoke. Whatever she has, it works. It negated the Two-Star attacks like they were nothing."

"I see. What information have you located on her personal life?"

"That was the easy part. It seems the Mankanshoku family isn't as caring or giving as the daughter."

She indicated to a number of gossip magazines, all running a common theme. An overweight man, a woman sporting a pink beehive and a suited boy were spread across the front pages in various states of misadventures, a dog in a hoodie in every picture.

"New money Z-tier celebrities at their finest. They've got more cash than they know what to do with and too much time on their hands, so they drink themselves stupid and waste as much as they can. Not even worth a second of our attention, and it seem Mankanshoku feels the same, as she hasn't been seen with them since starting the Safe Zone. Which…"

Nonon trailed off, a rarity for her. Satsuki laced her fingered, waiting.

"Thank you for your efforts Nonon; even this little gives us a start. However, if you have something else, please share it. Any information is useful, even if it just insubstantial."

Nonon's face lit up from the praise, but when she spoke again, it was far less cocksure than her usual tones.

"Satsuki, before I tell you the last of this, keep in mind it's all just rumours and speculation from locals. The old lady who told me about it was trying to set me up with her grandson at the time."

"I'm sure I will endure. Go on."

Nonon pulled out another set of magazines, all running similar front pages.

**Mako Mankanshoku: Lady Kiryuin's secret lover?**

**Is Safe Zone a bribe to silence her?**

**Honnouji values corrupted! Elite promoted without trial!**

**Mankanshoku's morning trysts with Lady Kiryuin!**

"You can see where they're coming from. Ryuko promotes a No-Star to her council outside a Naturals Election and without previous experience. Anyone who asks her about it gets murdered or brutalised on the spot, and she lets a Safe Zone, a place completely against her morals open up shop on her front garden. And it seems Mankanshoku moved into Ryuko's place to get away from her family. For all intents and purposes, it looks like they're all set up together, and Mankanshoku gets special treatment because Ryuko doesn't want to come out of the closet. And when I spoke to Mankanshoku, she seemed awfully invested in the idea she could change Ryuko."

Satsuki remained silent, and Nonon threw her hands up in defence. The Toad would be no help to her here, blushing as furiously as he was, so she was on her own.

"Not that I'm suggesting your sister's a dyke or anything! It's just a lot of rumours I picked up! Either way, it's not really important to us which way she swings, considering we're just here to dispose of her. Here, l-let me get these all out the way!"

Her attempt to clear away the offending magazines was stopped dead in its tracks as Satsuki snatched them from the table and began to rifle through at quick pace, her friends sharing a look. Satsuki spoke little of her family other than detailing how they would be defeated, but it was only just occurring to the pair that it was possible a spark of familial feelings remained. Could Satsuki simply be concerned for her sister, in spite of herself? Disappointed perhaps? Whichever it was, Ira chose not to be around when she decided to react.

"Hand over the plates, I shall go wash them."

Traitorous bastard! Nonon resolved to have Marika bite his arse later, just before he fell asleep. And every time he would try afterwards as well. With the Toad gone, she was left alone to sweat as Satsuki poured over each and every piece Nonon had brought before her, and gathering up so much seemed to have been a worse and worse idea the more Nonon sat there. Finally, Satsuki brought an end to her torment.

"I believe we have nothing to worry about."

Nonon released a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding onto.

"O-oh? How so?"

Satsuki laid a newspaper before her, pointing to the central image.

**Lady Kiryuin visits Safe Zone – Surprisingly few causalities!**

The image showed Ryuko and Mako walking together, examining their surroundings. Mako seemed full of energy, pointing to something out of frame, Ryuko gazing passively. Satsuki began to explain before Nonon could ask.

"When my mother takes a partner of either gender, it is for her pleasure and her pleasure alone. They are little more than a tool for her needs. I imagine Nui takes after her in that way, desperate as she is to emulate and impress her. Neither would consider taking on a task for a partner if they did not wish to. Look at Ryuko's eyes. She is bored, tremendously so. She likely only visited the Safe Zone at Mankanshoku's request."

"And that's good?" Nonon asked, trying not to imagine the harpy-like figure of Ragyo Kiryuin in bed with anyone. She failed, much to her chagrin.

"Very much so. It shows that either Ryuko is not as possessed by Life Fibers as I thought, that Mankanshoku is truthful in her claims of "fixing" her, or that Ryuko has finally found a friendship she can invest her humanity into. Any of these outcomes are a boon for us."

"And you're not worried that your sister might have a liking for girls?"

Satsuki looked at her with the closest thing to confusion that she could muster.

"Ryuko is a mass murdering tyrant. Why on earth would I be concerned if she is a lesbian?"

The awkward silence took Nonon's throat in a death grip and refused to let go as she struggled to voice her thoughts. It was broken by a sudden knock, and she had never been so glad to be in sudden terror for her life as Satsuki drew Bakuzan-Prime.

"Were you followed back?"

"I don't think so. I had Marika checking behind us the whole time. REVOCS maybe?"

"If it is, they've certainly become rather more polite."

Before either could make a move, a deep voice rumbled from behind the escape door that had been knocked upon.

* * *

"Sanageyama? What are you doing here?"

Ira set the plates down and raised his fists, cursing himself for not wearing his armour at all times, even on a day of peace. He would punish himself later, but for now he had to deal with his old acquaintance bare-handed. Hopefully the swordsman would think him alone and pursue him away from the girls. As it was, Uzu Sanageyama just shot him one of his standard grins, leaning back into the escape door.

"Ah, you know how it is. Ryuko's losing her shit over everything that happened yesterday, and I figured I'd hunt you guys down and get her to stop climbing the walls. How is Lady Satsuki anyway?"

"I don't know what it is you believe you know Sanageyama, but I am here alone. As far as I know, Lady Satsuki is still in exile in Europe."

Sanageyama cocked an eyebrow, looking to Ira's feet.

"Really? Cause that's an awful lot of plates for one person, even a big guy like yourself."

Just as Ira made to lunge, the door was pulled back and the elite found himself falling backwards, robbed of his normal cat-like grace. A vicious grin, a slab of metal rushing towards him and a hollow clang were the last things he registered before he blacked out.

* * *

"Oh come on, isn't this a little bit ridiculous?"

"Not at all. Capturing an enemy who stumbles upon your territory is standard procedure in times of war."

"For the record, I'm just going to go out and say I told you this was an awful hiding place."

Uzu had awoken to find himself tied up on a dusty floor, a tiny pink-haired girl standing over him wielding a frying pan as Gamagoori prostrated himself before the woman thought lost to the Kiryuin family. Now the three were just standing around deciding what to do with him, Satsuki examining everything he'd brought with him. She finally settled on picking up a flash drive and an SD card that had been nestled in his pocket.

"Taking lessons from Inumuta are we? I must say, things like this don't really seem your style."

Damn, even now her voice chilled him to the bone in way Ryuko's violence could never achieve. In spite of that absolute authority, he managed a weak smile.

"Well, guess I'm hoping they're more suited to your tastes. He handed them off on me before I left this morning. Guess he figured out I'd be heading your way."

Satsuki flicked the devices over to Nonon, who began to run the SD card within her tablet. After a few seconds of tapping and swiping, she handed it over to her leader, who examined the information with a soft smile.

"It is nice to see that some things never change. Untie him Nonon."

"What? You're sure?"

"You heard the lady, didn't you half-pint?"

Nonon's eyes flashed in time with the raising of her makeshift weapon. Thankfully, Satsuki let him loose before further potential brain damage could occur, stepping between the pair to begin proper introductions.

"Uzu Sanageyama, this is Nonon Jakuzure, former scion of the Jakuzure Transportation Company. Nonon, this is Uzu, one of the three elites I left to supervise Honnouji Academy."

"Great job you've been doing." The petite girl hissed at him as a quick handshake ensued. Satsuki brought the tablet before her and Ira before an argument could break out.

"Inumuta has been waiting for us for some time it seems. This data packet contains every detail on Honnouji Academy activity at all levels of operation. I'm guessing Iori chipped in on this as well, considering that every club and elite uniform is listed here. It appears our suspicions were correct Ira, the Goku Uniforms seem to have doubled in effectiveness since your departure."

She turned back to their unexpected mole.

"Thank you for your assistance Sanageyama. However, I cannot believe you risked revealing our location to Ryuko and your own safety simply for something that was handed to you on a whim by someone who could have been a possible traitor to you."

A slow grin grew on the swordsman's face.

"Dead on, Lady Satsuki. Considering how long you've been away, I was kinda concerned you hadn't been using your blade for much. And I believe I'm owed a rematch."

Nonon's jaw dropped.

"You cannot be serious."

* * *

It seemed he was, as both of the soon-to-be combatants had headed outside without another word. With Ira keeping an eye out for any unwanted attention, the two faced down outside the Matoi mansion, Uzu discarding his jacket as he took up a shinai, Satsuki holding Bakuzan-Prime at her waist, still sheathed.

"You've come here without your Goku Uniform? Are you so arrogant to believe that my blade has dulled so much, Uzu Sanageyama?"

"I just wanna show you how I've done on the stage you granted me, Lady Satsuki. If you cannot best me here, you'll crumble before Ryuko. Besides, the damn thing needed a wash anyway."

Behind Satsuki, Nonon palmed her face, muttering something about filthy monkeys. Satsuki just nodded.

"Very well then. Shall we begin?"

And with that, she stepped forward and lunged for Uzu's midriff, a blow easily stopped and turned away, the elite mimicking the stab with a cry of "DOU!" Satsuki followed her attack through to the side, flowing around the attempted blow and swinging for the wrists. Uzu pulled his attack short to block again, twisting his wrists as the two stood blade-to-blade, a man's strength quivering against a Kiryuin's determination.

"I see your eyes haven't dulled in my absence at least."

"Not even slightly. I can see further and clearer than ever before now."

They broke and struck again and again, clashing to the sound of lacquered wood meeting faster than any outsider could witness. Nonon sat shocked on the sidelines, frantically scrolling for information in the files they'd received. Not once in her time with Satsuki had she ever seen Bakuzan-Prime stopped, sheathed or not. And this monkey was holding her advance with only a tightened jaw to show his struggle. She found his page in the notes, reading as fast as she could.

"Eyes, eyes, what about his damned eyes?"

"The gaze that traces every outline and sees the body's truest words. The Secret Technique of Clairvoyance! That is Uzu Sanageyama's power."

Ira knelt beside her as he rumbled out his half explanation. The area must have been safe for the time being.

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"It's quite simple. He can read the preparatory motions in the body language of his opponent to predict where and how they will move in battle. That is how he holds Lady Satsuki's blade. However, this technique has been known to both of us for the longest time, and she will have an answer waiting."

As if waiting for Ira's explanation, Satsuki threw a cloud of dirt at Uzu's face. When the swordsman moved to avoid it, she caught him with a left hook and brought Bakuzan-Prime down onto his weapon as he staggered back, the practise blade cracking under the weight of the strike. Before she could finish the fight, Uzu had claimed a second shinai, swinging it up to defend himself. Pushing back, he began a more aggressive fighting style, discarding precision in favour of an unending wave of strikes, one after another as Satsuki fell into a natural defensive style, halting each blow before it could threaten her. With each block, the cracking sound when the blades met grew harsher and sharper, until Uzu leapt back, throwing both at his opponent. As Satsuki shattered the makeshift projectiles with a downward blow, Uzu had already rearmed himself, swinging wildly into the gap.

"It's over, Satsuki Kiryuin! I've read all your defences!"

As the audience waited the clash of weapons again, Uzu's left hand shinai struck Satsuki's thigh, the right only turned away in the nick of time. Satsuki's eyes narrowed as Nonon and Ira's jaws nearly separated from their faces.

"So, that is your new strength."

"WHAT?"

Before Nonon could complain, Ira had already overridden her.

"His eyes… how long have they been closed?"

Uzu broke off his assault, swinging both shinai out dramatically, whipping the dust up into a whirlwind around him.

"Being able to predict movements with your eyes only works until your opponent blocks your sight. And when you spar with Ryuko Kiryuin, she'll gouge out every weakness presented to her. As such, I learned to fight in the dark, allowing me to see everything! This is my new power, the Authority of the Mind's Eye!"

**NEW POWER – SHINGANTSU**

"It's also how I was able to hunt you down, Lady Satsuki. Shingantsu lets me see everything from the whisper of your breath to the roar of the sea halfway across the world. My attacks are unavoidable now!"

He shot towards her again, continuing to set the pace with that wild two sword style, Satsuki firmly on the back foot as she worked on diverting or neutralising every swing thrown her way, slowly backing towards the ruins. With a quick strike to set him back, she dived into them, weaving in and out of the desolated rooms as Uzu pursued. She kicked at each low wall to loosen chunks of debris, throwing relics of a life once held in the walls. Each projectile was scattered and cleared by the rapid whirl of Uzu's wooden swords.

"Is this what the proud Satsuki Kiryuin is deduced to? Base tricks and running?"

"All is fair in love and war. And in time, even cowardice can produce victory!"

Declaration made, Satsuki burst out from behind him with a bold swing. Uzu sneered and raised his guard, only to watch as Bakuzan-Prime split both swords at the hilt.

"What? How?"

Satsuki provided an answer by planting a kick into his side, a fist connecting with his chin as he recoiled to cast him into the ash of the Matoi mansion. Bakuzan-Prime was already at his throat before he could rise again.

"Even if one can see everything, a human's focus is easily misled. I have never unsheathed my blade for you, so the idea that I might was the furthest thing from your mind as you stopped my tricks. That is how you have been defeated, Uzu Sanageyama."

And with that, she turned on her heel to retrieve her sheath, Nonon cheering heartily in the entrance.

* * *

"Don't worry about anyone else sniffing around here. Shingantsu is the only reason I found you in the first place, and I can tell Ryuko that I scoped it out around here and found nothing."

"We would appreciate that."

"No problem. You can thank me by making it to the Sudden Death Runoff Election. I'm guessing that's why you're back?"

"Indeed. Ira has informed me of the atrocities committed at Honnouji, and we are fast running out of time. It seemed prudent that I return. As Student Council President at Honnouji, my profile would be too high-cast for REVOCS to arrange an accidental death without it drawing suspicion, even this late in the game. We will make our move on day seven of the event and enter ourselves into the brackets. Even with the enhanced strength of the Goku Uniforms, we shouldn't encounter any real resistance."

"Alright then, I'll see you there. Take care of yourselves until then. Even you, short-stuff."

"Pray I don't get drawn against you, monkey-boy. They won't find the body."

And with that, Uzu began his return to Honnouji, his laughter carried on the wind. Once he was gone and the trio was settled back in their base, Satsuki started pouring over the data provided to them by their inside man.

"So, how do we know this Inumuta guy isn't just sabotaging us?" Nonon asked. Ira had left to finish the cleaning of the tableware.

"When I installed the three boys as Ryuko's elites, they had been made aware of what was to come and their duties if they wished to follow me. Out of all three, it was Sanageyama I was most concerned would fall into corruption. That his lust for battle would overtake his common sense and cause him to go turncoat. Houka Inumuta cares little for anything other than his own interests, which the destruction of the earth would interrupt somewhat. He also finds the Kiryuin interests distasteful, and they have nothing to tempt or threaten him with."

"So, that's just Mankanshoku and the other one we have to worry about. Looks like taking back Honnouji will be easier than we thought."

Satsuki didn't respond, returning to her research, leaving Nonon to go back to checking all of her equipment. Only when the diminutive girl stepped outside to stretch her limbs did Satsuki answer, a low sigh as she looked over the data once more, finding the pages for the Elite Four.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. No plan survives contact with the enemy, after all."

**THREE STAR GOKU UNIFORM – EMPRESS REGALIA**

**THREE STAR GOKU UNIFORM – PLATINUM REGALIA**

**THREE STAR GOKU UNIFORM – SPYMASTER REGALIA**

**FOUR STAR GOKU UNIFORM – WAR GOD REGALIA**

**PENDING DATA – KAMUI JUNKETSU – BEAST MODE?**


	7. Welcome to the Jungle

Naturals Elections: A Kill La Kill Fanfiction

AN: Not happy with this, will tune it up later. Enjoy maybe.

* * *

Chapter 7: Welcome to the Jungle

The room stank of blood and urine. Not hers obviously. Nui was a good girl, and gave people what they were looking for when they asked for ever so politely. Honestly, he'd brought this on himself really. But even her famous debating methods were starting to get a little stale, so it was time to pull out her trump card. She sat opposite her opponent, legs together and hands her lap like the lady of high society she was.

"Mr Reebok, I'm only going to ask this one more time, and if you deny me again I'll be ever so cross. It's not really too much to ask, just for a little signature, is it?"

There was no response, and Nui sighed in frustration.

"Very well, I see you've left me no choice."

She got up and walked behind him, the man tied to the other chair feebly rocking in vain to try and escape his bonds as she drew one finger across the exposed patch of skin on the back of his neck.

"Oh, now you start moving. Well then, you'll be very interested in my next proposition."

The finger came to rest on a sewing needle lodged in at the intersection of neck and spine.

"Do you feel that? See, I've been considerate of your needs so far. This little needle's been keeping most of what you should have been feeling from registering in that tiny little head of yours. Tell me Mr Reebok, what do you think would happen if I were to remove it?"

She waited ten seconds for the realisation to occur, the silence broken by a pain-rusted whisper.

"Papers."

Nui smiled and went to the corner of the room, to where a blood-soaked jacket lay, protecting a briefcase from the worst of the viscera. She took it over to the desk at the head of the room, popped it open and retrieved the necessary documents, laying them out. Mr Reebok was wheeled back to his place of business, a pen placed into the hand without broken fingers. Nui was a smart girl you see, and she knew destroying the dominant hand was bad for business. And with the signature, that was the last of her high-flying boardroom life over with. She sighed wistfully as she shuffled the papers back into the briefcase. Suits would never be her thing, but the life of a high-class businesswoman had suited her perfectly. Vicious takeovers, tearing down stocks, all such fun! Still, it was time for her to go; back to Japan and to mother's waiting arms. She withdrew her parasol and shattered the windows leading out into the world. Good wind today, she'd be at the airport in no time. She was just about to leave when she realised something every important, and made her way back to the former CEO.

"Terribly sorry about this, but that needle? Part of a set, and I really can't misplace any of them. Sooooooo…"

The noise that crawled from the man's throat could not be described as a scream. It was barely even human, a drawn-out, raging, keening thing drenched in pain. Nui leant down to his ear.

"Should I make it stop?"

Somehow, he found the strength to nod, even as bloody tears rolled down his face. He was not crying for long, as Nui took on the heavy but nevertheless necessary task. She wheeled the chair over to the window on the hundredth floor, and pushed. The sky had already taken her away before he hit the ground. And as an added bonus, the crunch of bones would keep anyone from looking up and seeing her unmentionables. She was halfway to the airport when her phone rang, which left her with a small problem. She had to hold onto the briefcase because it was important to mother, but she very much couldn't let go of her parasol, now could she? She'd drop out the sky! She quickly came up with a solution, even if it was graceless to hold a briefcase in your teeth.

"Mon-Mignon Prêt-à-Porter."

A second Nui immerged from the parasol and took the briefcase. The extra weight would slow them down, but Nui so rarely received phone calls. A quick rummage in her cleavage found her phone. An iPhone 8, one of a pair made before mother had the company burned down for their over usage of the colour white. Nui didn't see the fuss really. It looked exactly the same as the last one. But it did contain the numbers of her three most favourite people, and allowed her most favourite person to call her now.

"Oui, maman?"

"Nui, how goes the Reebok meeting?"

"All finished and complete ma'am. I'm on my way home now."

"That's my girl. Feel free to travel in business class. You've earned it."

Well, that would certainly beat flying solo across the Atlantic in the storms she'd encountered on the way over here. But there was something on Nui's mind.

"Maman, is there going to be anything for me to do when I get home? I mean, this was more of a formality, you know? There are no more companies for us to buy up."

"Funny you should mention that. You remember your dear older sister, yes?"

"Ryuko or the other one?"

"Satsuki, of course. Our little runaway has finally come home and has been getting in Ryuko's hair. So much so that she's asked for your assistance, and your particular set of skills."

Nui could have cried with happiness, even if she had just lost a bet. Not only did she have a chance to go see her sister, it was with the explicit purpose of murdering the other one? If she was lucky, she could try and wipe out that bob-cut bitch too while she was at it. Oh, Honnouji Academy, how she'd missed it.

"Tell Ryuko I'll be there as soon as possible."

"I'll get Hououmaru to pass it on. Oh, and Nui?"

"Oui, maman?"

"Today is the first day of Ryuko's little games. To make a grand enough entrance, you may wish to turn up only on the seventh."

"Got it. Au revoir."

"Au revoir."

She stuffed her phone away once more, took the briefcase back and dismissed her copy. It spite of mother's words, Nui was going to make her way home as soon as possible. There was no way she was going to be left out of a family reunion, after all.

* * *

They all gathered in the centre of Honnouji. Every student who wanted a chance at something greater, every mercenary who wanted a fat pay check. And her Elites, determined to defend their titles. A great thrumming, roaring crowd pulsing with bloodlust. And she had the pleasure of letting them loose. The sky was drowned in blood-red fever as Ryuko stepped out to their zealous cheers.

"Listen up, you pigs in human clothing! Seeing how we've all been around the block a few times, I really shouldn't have to explain this. But just in case we've got a couple idiots in the crowd, here's the rules for the Naturals Election. Kill! Maim! Burn! Pillage! Do everything you can to stay alive, and meet up back here on the seventh day for your chance to become greater than you'll ever be!"

She withdrew a golden revolver, big enough to punch a hole in an elephant. Or a toad, whichever she felt like hunting. Now then, how to get this started? There, that guy looked like he was begging for death. Bastard wasn't even looking at her.

"Now then, let the games begin!"

And the Naturals Election began as they always did.

**NATURALS ELECTION**

**DAY ONE**

_There was blood on her hands. Satsuki's, and that of the man she'd killed. It had been an accident, really it had. She'd just grabbed a weapon and fired. She thought that the Nudist Arsenal was a joke, not even worth mentioning. It wasn't supposed to be able to… make a hole, like that. Worse still, Satsuki was still unconscious, cradled in Gamagoori's arms. She wasn't dead, thank God, but the idea that someone so strong, so noble, could be taken down by what could be described as nothing less than a fluke…_

_Nonon kept her head down as sewing machine gun fire rattled overhead, and begged for the world to stop. She wanted to get off._

"Nonon."

She took a swing at the voice, more out of habit then any real annoyance at being woken up. Honestly, she was kind of happy to be out of that memory. But she'd never tell the Toad that.

"What?"

"Get up and eat. We're moving into the city today."

"What."

She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her gunky eyes. Sure enough, Satsuki and the Toad were preparing for battle, the garage filled with the sounds of sharpening blades and rattling ammunition. She made her way to what was almost food and began picking at what Gamagoori thought were fried eggs. Ugh, needed ketchup. Two cups of coffee later and she almost felt like a regular human.

"I thought you told the monkey that we weren't moving until the last day."

"I lied. Ryuko has several devoted lieutenants and followers we're going to remove. We'll be splitting up and embarking on eliminating three targets each day. Your orders are under your mug."

She was amazed that they'd found enough material to cover the Toad up again, as the three Life Fibre Hunters stepped out the train carriage, shielding themselves from prying eyes under travelling cloaks. It was just as well the train was automated, as no human would went keep it running in these conditions. From here, Honnouji looked as though it was burning, the light from a thousand battles rippling around it and a multitude of cries filling the air over the moat. Satsuki's hand went to Bakuzan-Prime.

"We'll see each other to the front gates, but after that we'll operate solo until the seventh day. We'll meet up in Honnouji courtyard, where the Sudden Death Runoff will take place."

"And if we're dead by then?"

"Nonon, I have the utmost faith that you'll survive. But if not, we'll raise sake in your honour when our mission is complete."

"Satsuki, you really need to work on how you assure people."

"Really? I consider that a great honour."

"That's because you're a toad, Toad. Having someone step on you makes your day, so you'll probably die with a smile on your face and a ragin- hmph!"

Satsuki could only be left to wonder what Gamagoori would die with as he smothered Nonon's mouth to keep her quiet, blushing as she'd never seen before.

**DAY TWO**

This was different. Normally they would have seen at least one bandit or otherwise by this point. But a whole day had passed, and while the rest of the Academy had gone about its usual fighting, the Safe Zone had yet to see any action. And Mako didn't like it, and so she patrolled the walls relentlessly, going around again and again and again and again and-

"Lady Mankanshoku."

A One-Star stood before her, a mug of hot chocolate prepared with extra cream and marshmallows. She took it gratefully and sent him on his way. It wasn't her right to separate students from their families. If it was up to her, she would be alone on these walls, but even her pleas couldn't stop volunteers from taking guard, aiming down with bows and arrows provided by Ryuko, the red strings glinting even in the darkness. Still, she had to admire that desire to protect, the trust they'd put in her to look after them being repaid both ways. And so she would continue to watch the walls, even though her back ached from Ryuko's punishment and her eyes began to droop. Still, even her tired eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the purple aura just below the peak of Honnouji, where she knew the mansion under her name would be a wild hive of the rich and famous. Her family had their own way of holing up and helping people during the Naturals Elections. Mako sighed, a long column of white breath escaping into the night. She wished that she could still call them her family. She could still remember the way her mother had looked down on her when she'd been down about her new position, the coldness of her father as he went out day after day without so much as a word, and how her brother had screamed at her when she'd told them about her plans. How quick they'd been to boast her achievements when the Safe Zone had begun to collect the gaze of their upper class fellows. She shook her head out to clear away the bad thoughts. Her family had left her, and she'd left them. She didn't need the friends inside her head anymore, because Ryuko and her friends in the Safe Zone would support her. She drained the last of her mug, and went back to patrols.

**DAY THREE**

Uzu missed when the Naturals Elections had been fun. Not that rampant murder was his thing, but the thrill of being on the other side, with opponents trying to slaughter you? His blood used to sing as he threw himself into mobs a hundred strong, or battled every Two-Star at once. But now his uniform was an even hotter prize than every gift the Safe Zone hid away, and the mobs and Two-Stars threw themselves at him instead, even to the point of attacking his house. Fools. He had worked for years to withstand the pressure of the fourth star on his chest, and they thought they could simply slip on the sleeves and become a badass in two easy steps? Impossible, and annoying. None of them were stronger, so none of them provided a challenge. There was no challenge, so it wasn't fun. There were only four humans stronger than him now, and three of them couldn't even be labelled as human to begin with. Still, even knowing that, he couldn't stop fighting. Satsuki had defeated him with a cheap trick and had yet to show him her true skill, and Ryuko could tear him apart without even trying, and the gap wasn't closing quickly enough for his liking. But he had found a happy medium for the time being. His favourite shopkeeper had informed him that he'd have to close down if his place got wrecked again, and so Uzu had made a deal. A bodyguard in exchange for a discount. Both parties of arseholes attacked one place, Uzu wrecked them in return, and he got to train, even just a little. Victory might have been boring and defeat stung like nothing else, but he'd find a way. He always did.

**DAY FOUR**

Despite the magnificent trappings of her Three-Star abode, Maiko still appreciated the simple things in life. She waited on her dinner for just long enough to offer up a prayer before tearing open her instant ramen and tucking in. Honnouji Academy tore itself apart on twelve different monitors, a thirteenth providing the sole insight into Ryuko's current housing at the peak of the island. Maybe today she'd be able to maneuver the spider-camera into her private quarters and dig up some real dirt. The Naturals Elections had long since served their purpose for her, and had gone from being a monthly nightmare to a bothersome chore. Even with her ambitions, there was no way for her to match Ryuko in a straight fight, and she was simply too strong to bother with the riffraff. Which left her in a choking middle zone, unable to obtain the titles of her dreams, and plain refusing to re-join the faceless rabble. So she did what she did best, and hid away to plot and plan. Ryuko could not be displaced by force, but if she could find something so shocking that the masses rose up to displace her as one, even she could be removed from her lofty perch and replaced. Unearthing the emotional weak point would be a start, but it wouldn't hurt to have a tidal wave of slander and sleaze to back her up when she made to take the throne. Maiko took one last look at the chaos on the monitors and a snorted as Uzu Sanageyama defended a corner shop for the fourth day in a row, for reasons far beyond her. Such petty concerns, such worthless dreams. You had to reach for the highest peak, or else why even bother to climb the mountain? One day, they'd all be under her completely, and they would pray for a world in which they could think to challenge her with their flailing hands and savagery.

**DAY FIVE**

"How are things going?"

"As well as can be expected. I'm lying low as usual. Our unhappy sniper is off doing his usual thing."

"Hunting Satsuki? Even with his implants…"

"I know, I told him. Damned fool never listens to me."

"And the other sister?"

"Operation Bump and Grind is ready Doctor. Either way this turns out, Ryuko Kiryuin won't be on the throne of Honnouji when this ends."

**DAY SIX**

Ryuko was bored. Bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored B-O-R-E-D fucking bored. She was so bored that the word bored had stopped looking like a word and more an infinite gateway that was sucking out her soul. She should be down there, engaging in glorious combat. Instead she was visiting a room she'd never stepped foot in before. After all, she had no business with clothes of a lessor calibre, even if they were fashioned from Life Fibers. But she'd already done everything else to amuse herself (Games, movies, book burning, training, locking herself in her bedroom with nothing but a few select toys and a picture of Mako), and when all of that failed to please, she'd been hit with a surge of wanderlust. So now she was going around, searching for any room she hadn't stepped foot in before. Of course, that was no reason for the tailor to look so nervous.

"Lady Kiryuin. To what do I hold the pleasure?"

She just walked past him, looking out at the masses and masses of uniforms. The fibers lay dormant, but she could still feel their strength, their voices calling out to her. Wear us, take us, use us. We need to be free. There was a sudden tightening on her ribs, and Junketsu's eyes narrowed at the assembly lines.

_"__Someone's jealous."_

_"__Yes, we are. Now let's go. These shadows are to us what humanity is to you. They may even be creating resistance in the humans that wear them. We don't understand why you continue to support them."_

_"__Eh, it's all a bit of fun. Not like it matters in the end really."_

_"__If you say so. Can we go?"_

_"__Sure. We've got another ten rooms to hunt down today. I don't know what a library is, but it sounds flammable."_

She left without a word to the other human in the room. As the door locked behind her Shiro Iori leant back on his desk, and sweated out the minutes. Only when five had passed and the hairs on his neck had flattened down did he knock twice on the plastic. The silence was replaced by disgruntled complaining as Houka Inumuta immerged from underneath, his laptop pressed to his chest. Shiro breathed deep into his mask, trying to clear the fear from his throat.

"That girl is insane."

"Worse. She's bored. Come on, we don't have much time to spare."

As he fixed his glasses and opened the lid of his instrument of rebellion, Houka couldn't shift the sickly feeling from his stomach. One way or another, it was likely that this was going to be the last Naturals Election. Not that he didn't have faith in Satsuki Kiryuin, but her long absence had put a chill in his bones that his usual apathy couldn't subdue.

"Shiro."

"Hmm?"

"If Satsuki fails, do we have enough contingency plans?"

"We have enough, but I wouldn't say that any of them are good, seeing as we wouldn't survive most of them. But even then, better dead than thread, huh?"

There was a moment of silence, followed by the resigned application of hand to face and a heavy sigh.

**DAY SEVEN**

Satsuki waited alone, which was to be expected. She'd turned up to the location an hour ahead of time after all. The note had requested it. She'd caught the feeling of being watched after the third hour inside Honnouji, and it had followed her all the way up to this point. There was a glint of sun in her eyes, and she drew her sword.

The bullet came away in two, the shards hitting the building behind her. This was of no concern to her, already moving towards the sniper's location. Five more shots followed as she made her way up the road, and all five deflected. The building was trapped of course, a labyrinth of mines and tripwires that erupted all around her as she ran through them, protected by her sleeves as she made her way up. The stairs fell away under her, but she leapt higher to clear them. Each floor was steely death, but no amount of reanimated animals and robotics could dull her blade as she hacked through them. Finally she made it to the roof, only to find it bare. She walked to the edge, and looked down to see her challenger waving a remote at her.

The building exploded seconds after she leapt onto its neighbour. That too went up in flames, and the next two after that as she descended into an alleyway lined with bear traps. He was waiting for her where she'd started. The man was smothered in black combat gear, save for the red crest of his mohawk and what little tanned skin he showed. Steely eyes ran her down as she approached.

"Better luck next time."

"Hmph. Luck seems to be all we have against you Kiryuins these days."

**NUDIST AGENT – ****TSUMUGU KINAGASE**

"Should I take this as a serious assassination attempt then, or a mere stab at avenging wounded pride?"

"Take it how you will. It makes no difference to me."

He made the first move, claws flicking out to jab at her side. Quick bursts of speed and skill, designed to wear her down and keep him out of her range. But not good enough, not quick enough even as she weathered sewing machine gun rounds and locked Bakuzan-Prime's blade into place between his fingers. He might have even been strong enough to lodge her, had he not had to leap away to avoid the roaring laser beam crying Hallelujah. But that left him between Satsuki and a hard place, Ira cracking his knuckles as he barred the way out.

"If this is the best Nudist Beach has to offer, then my claim still stands. The Rending Scissors should be handed to someone who can actually make use of them."

"If that is still how you think, then I'm afraid I've got two pieces of information for you. One, a Kiryuin will be dead by the end of today. Two, a Nudist always hides something up his sleeve."

He'd vanished into the white smoke before the trio could make a move. But his eyes were off Satsuki, and that good enough for her as Ira grumbled and Nonon outright complained about Nudists.

"I trust everything has been taken care of?"

"Of course."

"Everyone on my list is out. Guess that means we're heading to the big time, huh?"

Honnouji's peak blared the time out across the city in large red numbers. Get there by twelve or lose your chance. Even now, students and thugs lined the streets, fighting for their lives with each step they struggled towards the top. They had three hours to spare and an entire city out for their blood each step of the way. Three hours until they would be fighting for their rightful places. Three hours to either save or damn the world. Satsuki's hand tightened on Bakuzan-Prime. She would not fail. Not now nor from one moment on. Nudists and COVERS alike could come for her, but she would make right by the day's end.

"Quite the uphill climb. Shall we get started?"


	8. Cosmic Egg

Naturals Elections: A Kill La Kill Fanfiction

AN: I've been away a while. Sorry about that.

Episode 8 – Cosmic Egg

_The first sister met him at his weakest before she'd even come into a hint of her strength. His armour had broken but he had remained, upright and proud. She had given him a great task, and he had failed her._

_The second sister met him as he came into power, and judged him undeserving before he could use it at all. She shattered him when he tried, and left him for dead at the foot of her kingdom. She gave him reason, and he would have retribution._

_He does not speak of the third._

* * *

It was not a defensive force that met them as they advanced to the peak of Honnouji, but an endless tide. The horde sought to kill but they were too lacking to complete the task, and it was all they could do to slow them down and wear them out. Ira held the front, an invincible bulwark for the tide to break upon. Nonon sat upon his shoulder, her music cannon tearing lines in the ranks with cries of Hallelujah. And for any that survived the onslaught or simply had more bravery than sense, Satsuki was waiting to cast them asunder. It took half an hour of continuous resistance before Honnouji broke and the tide retreated upwards, students and mercenaries alike fleeing to the peak in vainglorious hopes of making even a little money from reaching the academy. The hunters arrived shortly after. Those remaining scurried away as the trio made their way to the centre. The Elite Four awaited them there, and it did not take long for the gates to slam closed to seal them in. The crowds flinched, a prelude to the blood-red light that flooded the air as Ryuko took to her stage. She found Satsuki at once and the pair locked eyes. At once it was like a vale of fear had been drawn over the crowd, and even the Elite Four looked nervous as the sisters glared at one another. It was over in another instant, the pressure clearing with an almost audible hiss as Ryuko spoke, her voice oddly subdued.

"Right, I guess we'll get on with it then."

She stamped down and six spires punched out all around the crowd at the call, a hail of threads shooting out into the next, forming an electric blue barrier to shield the audience and lock the combatants into a tighter ring. Ryuko clearly didn't care for her own rules regarding time, or maybe she'd realised that all that could assemble had already done so.

"Here's how this works. Kill each other. Last eight standing go into a tournament. Winner of that tournament fights me for control of the school. Understood? Good, get to it."

She turned on her heel and went to her iron throne, dragged out to the lisp so she could watch over the preceding's in relative comfort. She wasn't given much to preside over, as a sharp shout punctured the arena before she'd made a single step. When she whipped around eight contestants remained. The Hunters, The Elite Four, and a lone mercenary, holding onto his hood as the wind died down. Every other challenger to the throne of Honnouji was defeated, piled up against the barriers by the force of Satsuki's Ki shout. What little control Ryuko held over her composure crumbled completely.

"You fucking ass shitty little bitch! You can't just cut to the chase like that, you uppity whore! Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I think that I'm saving us all some time. Anyone weak enough to fall to that has no right to rise against the throne. Besides, I imagine that your elites will stand a greater chance of fulfilling your desires."

The stadium was silent. Even at a lower register, Satsuki commanded just as much respect as the tyrant spitting feathers down from above, and no-one in the audience would blame their neighbours for staying as quiet as they. The elder Kiryuin sister was not spoken of by the family, but anyone who commanded the same level of power as the elites in cotton alone was to be feared. And while Ryuko was no stranger to anger, the way she hung on the precipice of her tower was unnerving even to those that knew her. There was something bubbling beneath the surface, and it almost seemed that was about to abandon the Naturals Election and begin the final round right then and there. And then something worse happened. She smiled. It was a rictus grin that had no place describing joy, but it hung on her face nonetheless.

"You know what sis? You're right. In fact, maybe I should thank you for kick-starting things."

She snapped her fingers, and at the sound the ground under the survivors began to shift and shake. Nonon had to grab Satsuki's sleeve for balance as a hexagonal cut of the courtyard was forced up on a great many pistons, as high as to reach the level of the master of Honnouji. Ryuko was seated properly now, slouching on her throne as a One-Star presented her with a small black box. She rummaged into it as gears locked the new arena into place, pulling out two slips of paper and reading them as another two platforms clicked alongside it, resting places for those not engaged in combat.

"She already had lots ready for us? Then why was she so pissed that Satsuki wasted the mob?" Nonon muttered.

"I wouldn't waste time trying to understand a madwoman."

"Shut it Toad!" Ryuko snapped, before that strange smile set itself back into place.

"After all, you've got some personal business to take care of. The first match of the Naturals Elections – Ira Gamagoori vs Maiko Ogure!"

Ira drew a surprised look at his replacement, who looked even more shocked then him. Clearly neither one had been expecting Ryuko to draw lots that would actually pit her fighters against Satsuki's. The rest of the Elite Four left Maiko to wait in the wings, Mako patting her on the back and wishing her luck as she went.

"Man, way to get the easy draw Toad. Still, that'll be one down in no time."

Ira grunted off Nonon's words, focusing on Satsuki.

"I shall not fail you again."

"I know."

And with that they went their separate ways as the combatants prepared themselves. The Empress Regalia took form to dress Maiko in gold and purple, her globed staff shaking as she adjusted her glasses. Ira tested the servos in his gauntlets one last time, made sure of the readiness of his bolter and stepped forward to take his position back.

**HONNOUJI SLUMS – ONE YEAR AGO**

**THE SIXTH NATURALS ELECTION**

"I refuse to mute myself and remain a bystander any longer, Ryuko Kiryuin!"

It had taken a year for Ryuko to wear him down. He recognised that she would be a problem child, a spoiled corporate princess with no concept of refusal except her own to his demands. He knew she had broken her heart waiting on a sister that had vanished from the face of the earth as Satsuki's absence hurt him. He knew she had no patience for the workload that Honnouji demanded of her. He had given her space; he had allowed her ample time to adjust. He had allotted her periods in which to unleash Junketsu's power upon himself and the rest of the Elite Three to vent her anger, as much as it displeased him to take damage that he could not use to improve himself in discipline. He had even stood back and approved the her own idea to motivate the students of Honnouji with an academy-wide brawl for positions and pride, even as she repeated them again and again without concern for those taking part in the first place. But this was too much.

The northern slums of Honnouji burned around them, put to the torch the power he had kindled. Junketsu was soaked in blood of No-Star students and their families, of common people who took refuge when they were turfed out of Tokyo. Ryuko had set their homes alight to make them run. She had torn them down one by one with clawed fingers until her arms turned crimson. The remnants of those people lay all about them now, thousands who thought they had a place to call home, thousands he could not protect. The lasting impression of the masses painted what was left of the walls and coated Ryuko. The last part of them was being eaten by the monster she wore, the dark red of No-Star blood fading to copper, then pink before it was gone completely, devoured by the Life Fibres that had been the instrument of the massacre. Life Fibres like those he wore himself. Ryuko rose from the withered husk that had been Junketsu's last meal. She did not face him for a moment, almost as though she intended to ignore him. But she faced him in the end, fixing eyes as hollow and lifeless as the husk upon him. When she finally spoke, her voice never rose from monotone.

"Funny. That's funny, isn't it Junketsu? He says he's going to speak up. I can't ever remember a time when he was quiet. Do this paperwork Ryuko. Feet off the desk Ryuko. Stop murdering the No-Stars Ryuko."

She had never been human, that much Ira knew. Satsuki had explained that quite well. But he wasn't ready for the utter void he was faced with. A creature of mass murder that didn't even blink away the gore from where it caked her eyes. A unfeeling, uncaring fiend that couldn't be reasoned with as it demolished cities. A monster that had to be destroyed. He apologised to the No-Stars that had lived not half an hour earlier for his failures, and to Satsuki for the trespass he had to commit. He called upon the power that ruled Honnouji, so that it would never be turned against the people again.

**THREE STAR GOKU UNIFORM – SHACKLE REGALIA**

It would not be as the battles that he had granted her before. He turned his whips upon himself in a second, barely feeling their bite as he invoked his true form right from the offset.

**THREE STAR GOKU UNIFORM **** – ****SCOURGE REGALIA**

He never saw the hit that began his expulsion. Ryuko's arm was buried deep within his uniform, a viperous parasite that ripped apart his torso in one clean strike as she pulled up, splitting the source of his strength into halves and carving a terrible pain into him from gut to throat. He was only barely aware of the beating that followed. Ryuko wanted him dead, but not out of whatever null malice she had committed before. She wanted him broken. She wanted him to bleed out, aware of his powerlessness in the face of otherworldly strength. The last time he recalled was the boot that rendered him unconscious, and when he woke next it was high above Honnouji, not down in the slums. Ryuko talked as the sky drowned the academy with red. He did not hear what she said, but he caught the impression of it as she threw him from the gates of Honnouji, leaving him for dead as he fell through each district in a great arc, not coming to a stop until he crashed into the slums once more.

* * *

It was near enough a year since the day Ryuko had expelled him. He had awoken in the sewers of Honnouji with his wounds sewn up and bandaged, and a set of travelling clothes for him to take when he left. He would have left them had he not been desperate. A year since he had been thrown from the peak of Honnouji. The wounds had healed, but the dark complexation of his father was permanently scarred, a long jagged one along his front and a hundred more hatched into his back. They had ached from the day he had left and every day until he had made it home. They had ached when he found Satsuki Kiryuin and begged for her forgiveness. They ached through every fight with Nudists and COVERS, and on Ryuko's stage it felt like they might open up again under her evil gaze.

As much as Maiko Ogure tried, she would not be replicating the feat. His armour endured the orange landmines that she scattered around with nary a scratch, and she held him at bay only with her glyphs. The ones she scribbled into the air hailed him with round after round of energy bullets, but if he tried to break through the web she'd formed on the floor would electrocute him instantly. He would survive, but the shock would be enough for her to finish him off if his armour shut down. His own shots were turned aside or destroyed completely by the miniature suns she sent his way, the orange ball of flame floating slowly at him as the blue one stood by her side, another trap for him to spring had she not taken matters into her own hands. Another volley of energy bullets came at him, and as they battered his plates a bright orb of light had formed at the tip of her staff. She fired it without waiting, and Ira was given the choice between taking the hit from it or another round of the bullets. He moved to avoid the orb, the only unknown quality. A second later he realised that there was no choice at all as a crippling wave of heat took him in the side, and he turned to see the orange sun erupt and blow him away. The damn thing had been slowly tracking him as he'd moved, and he'd been fool enough to dodge right into its path. He was blinded, but he could still hear Maiko's breathless screaming as he tried to find his feet.

"You were dead Gamagoori! I watched Lady Ryuko peel you like an orange and throw you away! I took your place by rights because you were too weak! I will hold it, no matter what you do! This is my kingdom now! I own it! I earned it!"

**HONNOUJI ACADEMY - ONE YEAR AGO**

**FINAL OF THE SIXTH NATURALS ELECTION**

It had been a Naturals Elections to remember, and one that set everyone straight. Ira Gamagoori had tried to defy Lady Ryuko, and she'd punished him before the entire academy. None blamed her. The northern slums had been a holdout for undesirables for God knew how long. Lady Ryuko had burnt out the weakness Satsuki Kiryuin had installed in Honnouji. It didn't stop the oddness that was afoot though. The election was originally going to be for a fourth Three-Star Uniform and the control of the non-physical clubs, but now the prize was for the title held by the traitor Gamagoori, and the original uniform had vanished. Rumour was that Lady Ryuko had pulled a diamond out the slums, someone to take up the new mantle. But it was just rumour, and the position of Disciplinary Committee Chair was a sweeter prize anyway. The two students left had been reduced to a bare knuckle fistfight, and one was on his last legs. The other pressed his advantage and swept in for a knockout hit, clubbing his opponent in the side of the head for the final time. Ryuko descended on stone steps to address the winner. She smiled, but there was no warmth on her face.

"Congratulations Kittan Black. You are our new head of –"

She stopped as the knife ran across his throat, and the victor of the Sixth Naturals Election collapsed gasping for air. The girl with the knife was just as bloody and tired as he had been. She had waited in the locked academy walls for a week with only the barest to eat or drink lest she be found in the foxhole she'd dug in the gardens to avoid the fighting. She had snuck into the first round, only to feign defeat at the start. She had disguised herself under the bodies of those fallen until the platform rose, and had hidden herself away underneath in the hollowed out section she'd found on academy blueprints. And she had waited so very long for her victory. Ryuko looked at her, looked to the corpse, looked to her again and began to laugh. It was not a pleasant sound, but it brought a spark to her eyes that had been long since lost. It took her a long minute to recover.

"Your name… what is your name, you crazy bitch?"

"Maiko Ogure." She said, in a voice rusted through from lack of use.

"And I'm your new Disciplinary Committee Chair."

Her family had been No-Stars, and herself a No-Star student in a system she could not thrive in. She was a planner, a trapper and a sneak in a world that demanded strength of arm to succeed. She had lived like that for a year and a half before she'd become sick of it enough to do something crazy. It had been well worth it. She had enough wealth so that her parents could relax for once in their lives, and power, absolute power that forced those that relied on strength of arm to bow down before her. The Empress Regalia fit her perfectly, to the surprise of the tailor. It did not surprise her. Unlike the hordes, she was willing to starve and bleed and soil herself waiting for the right moment. She could not hold onto the fourth star, but the three that she wore were enough to rule over most. She could not challenge Lady Ryuko, and for the time she was fine with that. It was enough just to eat well and bathe with hot water. It was also enough to get up close and personal with Houka Inumuta, a man after her own heart, even if it had taken a while for them to meet as she dug herself from the dirt. But she was still unsatisfied, and she knew why. The rumours were half true. Ryuko had not found a gem but a shitty lump of false gold, a lacklustre girl that lolled around the Student Council with teary eyes. It did not take long for Maiko to hate Mako Mankanshoku, the idol of false promotion.

* * *

"I own it! I own you! I own this academy! And I will burn it to the ground if I you die in the process!"

She was building up layers and layers of glyphs now, her staff spinning wildly out of control over head. What she was planning was impossible, in theory. Shiro had advised against it again and again. For her uniform, summoning a mine was nothing. Summoning the flare that had brought Ira to his knees took her breath away. To destroy him completely should have only been possible with a fifth star. The last word took everything she had, and her voice with it.

"Starfall!"

The blood-red sky of Honnouji was punched open as a great chunk of rock appeared, a vast meteor half the size of the tower Ryuko resided, aimed directly to crush the centre platform. She would be safe behind her barrier of glyphs, but he was right in the path of destruction, a spot in the shadow of death. Smaller rocks bombarded everything around them, Uzu and Satsuki cutting them down as Houka and Nonon took cover. The crowds could do nothing to stop them, but every time a fragment threatened them it would stop in mid-air and fall harmlessly, the audience protected by unseen hands. There was nothing to protect Ira as the bulk of heaven's wrath fell upon him, engulfing him in stone. The platform crumpled under the mass, but it had been prepared to endure Ryuko Kiryuin, and did not fall even as the arena was assaulted twice over by the unholy screech of metal bending and buckling. Ryuko smiled from on high.

"Maiko, I don't know what's gotten into you, but I like it. Well, I guess this first round goes to-"

"NOT YET!"

It was not a voice that should have spoken. It was voice that could not be silenced as floating cameras from the Film Club nipped in to document the point of impact. Ira appeared on every screen around the arena. The meteor Maiko had dropped was burning hot, and the molten light created by the heat illuminated him for Honnouji to see. The meteor had not made landfall. It was held up by gauntlets forged in the heart of duty. It was forced up by strength that refused to surrender to tyrants. Slowly, ever so slowly, it began to shift as Ira went from one knee and rose, hoisting the meteor with him. His helmet was a blaze of white metal from the task as he screamed retribution.

"You own this academy? You own this kingdom? You and your foul master own nothing but a litany of crimes that demand justice!"

He rose fully, and Maiko fell to her knees in fear and the blind hope that he would not have the strength to immerge from the carter left in the wake of her attack. She knew why she was afraid, why she'd resorted to such a measure so soon. Ira Gamagoori had defied the words and deeds of Ryuko Kiryuin. He had no right to be alive, no right to have survived his ordeal. But he had. He had stood against a god and had come back again because he thought it the right thing to do. And she held his title, the one with which he would fight against god again. Her hope was dashed as he took a bold step forward, still holding the mass above his head.

"This academy was built as a place of refuge, a shelter from a world on the brink! And you monsters took your unstable hearts and turned the chaos inwards, on those you should protect! But no longer! I have returned with the rightful ruler of Honnouji! We will wrest back control from those who have poisoned this well and set it right with order and structure once again!"

The helmet was little more than a pair of red lights that glared death at Ryuko from under the meteor, but the glare was enough. Maiko's weapon began to move again as Ira pushed forward with all his might and dominating force of will, hurling it at the central tower to meet Ryuko directly. Just as the two were about to collide a second shout pushed back against Ira's, and a web of cracks appeared all throughout the surface of the rock before it erupted into pebbles. The fragments remained only a second before blowing away into the wind as dust. Ryuko dusted off her hands, and shot a look of pure spite back.

"Ira Gamagoori wins, cause Maiko's just pissed herself and fainted. She loses her title, her Three Star Uniform and membership on the student council. Remove her from the arena and let's get the next round started."


	9. Strawberry Swing

Naturals Election: A Kill La Kill Fanfiction

AN: A couple of notes before we begin. One, this story somehow made it to TV Trope's Fanfiction recommendation page. No idea how that happened, because in accordance with this being pointed out to me, I went back over the older chapters, and I have no idea how you lot put up with all the errors. So Two, chapters one to five are slightly less awful now, and I hopefully fixed up any problems that might have come from me changing ideas mid-story. Three, to reviewers who showed concerns: Yes, Ryuko is powerful, but unlike canon Ryuko this one's had time to rest on her laurels instead of going from challenge to challenge, and I've been levelling everyone up in different ways. That said, Ryuko vs. Satsuki will likely be the most even fight so far, and might take multiple chapters. Relating to that, some people seem to be under the impression that this is a swapped-at-birth type of story like Maim de Maim or Transfer Student: Satsuki Matoi. Not quite. This is a "For Want Of A Nail" scenario, but it's not so much a swap that happened as much as a success. But I guess we'll get to that in like three chapters, or like three years based on my update times. Here's Nonon for now.

Chapter Nine: Strawberry Swing

**THIRTEEN YEARS AGO**

**HIGH-HANDED KINDERGARTEN**

Nonon was losing her best friend and had to create a new one. She accepted the reality of her situation and moved on to the next target she had been told to befriend. That was her part to play after all, forced to follow to the tune of her elders instead of composing her own symphony. The Jakuzures made up a large part of the Kiryuin dynasty, focusing on shipping and distribution worldwide. But even this close relationship wasn't enough for her father, who desired a stronger link to the main family. Her original target had been Satsuki, but as of the new school year she had been instructed to drop her like yesterday's closet and move onto the younger sister Ryuko, who was rumoured to be the inheritor to the conglomerate after Ragyo. And so Nonon had dumped Satsuki, which was fine by her. She'd never liked her ever-present smile and goody-two shoes attitude anyway. That said, the way she'd taken the news had been interesting. This year Satsuki wore a thin line on her face, and was doing her best to fade into the background. But that wasn't Nonon's problem anymore. The younger sister was playing in the dirt, her bright white scarf somehow having managed to survive the muddy barrage her uniform was enduring.

Nonon had done any with her usual posse of hangers-on for the initial meeting, both to create an atmosphere of friendliness and to get away from their non-stop whining. No she really didn't care if Ganta put worms in Shiro's hair, and she didn't need to be told three times before maths. She instead set them to work building a magnificent sandcastle. Ryuko was younger than her, so such a showing of playground power would instantly put elevate her in the eyes of her underclassman, and the invitation to lunch with an older girl would seal the deal nicely. She had chosen the location perfectly, right in place to block out the sun so that Ryuko couldn't fail to notice it. The new scion played her part in turn, standing up and squinting as Nonon approached, holding out her hand.

"Hi there. You're Ryuko, right?"

Ryuko's hand went to her scarf for safety, the fabric shimmering under her fingers.

"Yeah. You're Satsuki's friend… um… Nonon?"

"Oh wow, you remember! And I haven't been over to your house in forever! Anyway, I've got a present for you. Check it out."

She presented her opening gambit with a flourish.

"I own the sandbox, and everything else around here. No-one uses it without my permission, but since you're my friend you can use it any time! I'll even build you a castle to match!"

Ryuko stood in appropriate awe, and had taken the bait before Nonon could even mention lunch. She walked right up to the sandcastle, running her hand along the gritty surface. But before Nonon could say anything else, Ryuko plunged her hand right into one of the towers. The castle exploded a second later, erupting into its base materials and scattered into the air. Students ran about with tears and sand in their eyes, and Nonon's sight was only saved by Marika putting her paws over her eyes just in time. Ryuko stood in the centre of the chaos, the picture of innocence amongst the crying. She dusted off her hands and walked back past Nonon, returning to her patch of dirt.

"Nah, I'm okay. Your castle kind of sucks."

* * *

The dent in the arena from Maiko's attempted colony drop took only a few minutes thanks to the Honnouji Construction Club, and the next round had been pushed out the door before Ryuko's blood pressure shot up another notch. The sole mercenary had been drawn against Houka Inumuta, who wasted no time in transforming. While Maiko's uniform had turned her power inwards, it was a protective series of rings that formed around Honnouji's information expert.

**THREE STAR GOKU UNIFORM – SPYMASTER REGALIA**

To call it a uniform felt like a misnomer at first, as Houka himself was largely unchanged, sans the wetsuit-like material that covered his body. The strength of the Spymaster regalia was as a mobile fortress for one. The first of the two rings supported the structure for stability and him in a large leather chair, around which many virtual keyboards surrounded the user. These controlled the second, horizontal ring which contained the majority of the uniform's armaments. A series of boosters on the ring's underside kept the elite aloft and propelled him out the range of the claws the mercenary wielded on both hands, returning fire all the while with a battery of missiles spawned from every angle, directed by the targeting satellites that orbited the transformed uniform like a halo. The mercenary had limited success in avoiding the bombardment but it was not to last, and the fight finished anticlimactically as he fell off the edge of the arena to his death. Ryuko took the dull match surprisingly well, pulling out the next two names without much aplomb or vigorous swearing.

"Well, continuing our run of shockingly appropriate fights, next up are Mako Mankanshoku and Nonon Jakuzure. Don't fuck up this time Mako, it's not like she can run away again."

Mako saluted to the high tower and walked out to a handful of scrappy cheers. It was still more than her comrades had received for their part. Down in the viewing seats, Maiko was having to duck down to avoid getting welted by stray items of food and the occasional steel chair from disgruntled students she'd once lorded over. Satsuki put a hand on Nonon's shoulder just as she was about to set out.

"Be careful here. Even with the information given to us, we still have little idea of the Platinum Regalia's power. Mankanshoku is an unknown element in every way, and we cannot afford to take significant injuries."

Nonon set a small smile on her face as she pushed Satsuki's hand away.

"Don't worry Satsuki. I'm a lot stronger now than I used to be. You know that better than anyone."

**EIGHT MONTHS AGO**

Running away was a new experience for Nonon. Being drunk as hell was another one. She'd finally taken as much as she could take, and her fixed smile had fallen from grace. She'd been happy to let her father string her along her whole life so long as he maintained a light touch. They'd had an easy-going relationship in that regard, even as it damaged their familial one. She would befriend the right people, make the right connections and let her teachers drift her through her classes without incident and he would stay out of her personal life. Setting up an arranged marriage went far and beyond that arrangement, and considering that she'd let a lot of shady business partners leer and paw at her over the years, the situation really took the piss. Her new husband-to-be not so subtly implying that she needed to put down her conductor's baton and take up his flute had been the last straw. She'd mustered one final fake smile to hide her disgust, gone up to her room and cleared it out once her fiancé had vacated the Jakuzure estate. She'd left at the stroke of midnight like Cinderella with only a prayer to Marika's grave to tie her down. Now she was making her way out to wherever she could get to quickest, with too many bags on her back and a stolen bottle of sake in her hand. For once her life wasn't on rails, and the heady sense of freedom had infected her so deeply that she didn't care that she'd packed too many sundresses and that after a lifetime of having things carried for her, the bags were putting a real pain in her back. Too much of a pain in fact, and as she went to put them on a grassy knoll she lost all sense of balance and went over backwards, random items sent flying until she finally came to a stop at the bottom. Two warriors were waiting for her there.

They had clearly been fighting a while, and the man was on the losing side. His dark green armour showed no marks, but the man inside was clearly worn down to the point of exhaustion. The woman wasn't fazed in the slightest, sheathing her katana as she made her way to Nonon. For some reason, she was upside down and walking on the sky. She knelt down in front of her, and it was only once she'd stopped spinning that Nonon could place her face, something she felt ashamed of. It wasn't like you saw eyebrows like those everyday.

"Fuck me, you're Satsuki Kiryuin. I 'avn't seen you in years!"

"Nonon Jakuzure. I see you haven't grown much."

* * *

The performance started tentatively, Nonon controlling the space between herself and Mako with a mechanised Bo staff, the weapon extending and shrinking to jab and knock at her limbs. For some reason Mako hadn't transformed, taking the hits straight on or batting the staff aside with her fists. It was funny, in a way. When Nonon had first run away, even stepping up to a fight had been the furthest thing from her mind. If it had been up to her she likely would have ended up wandering aimlessly until she got her pampered arse killed. Once Satsuki had set her right-side up and she'd finally stopped giggling at the idea she could swear openly for the first time in her life, a serious conversation had taken place in front of her. Satsuki had wanted to take her as a hostage; Ira had wanted nothing to do with her. Nonon had pleaded a third option. Even as sheltered from the family business as had been, she knew of the lost Kiryuin, the girl that had somehow managed to drop off the face of the earth and avoid a company that ruled most of the world. She knew that Kiryuin assets had been under attack by intruders that sought not to rob but destroy, and there was only one person who could attack Kiryuin factories and get away with it. High on escape and expensive alcohol, Nonon had begged for a chance for revenge against her family as Satsuki took revenge on hers. It had been a decision she'd regretted once she'd sobered up and Satsuki had beaten her black and blue to start her training on the first day and every day afterwards as they made their way across country.

She was thankful for those days now as Mako swept in, taking a hit on the shoulder as she moved into Nonon's ineffective range. Nonon jumped back, shrinking the staff and sending it punching out to land a solid hit into Mako's gut. The staff extended again, and Nonon wove a web of carbonised steel around Mako, landing hit after hit after hit. The elite grit her teeth and weathered the storm, but Nonon wasn't willing to let her get away so easily. The Bo staff was passed over to her right hand for a lunging stab, but as Mako smacked the attempt away Nonon flicked out her binding yo-yo with the other hand, the string quickly wrapping around Mako and constricting her in anti-fiber string from foot to shoulder. Now came the onslaught of Bo staff jabs again, each one designed to weaken and cripple the threads that held the Three-Star uniform together. Her tools were the second thing she never would have dreamed of using, as the puppet she'd been before would have mocked any girl who dirtied her hands doing manual labour, let alone touching anything mechanical. It had been a whim really, a bit of tinkering done to a broken toy to shut up a crying child who had shared the junk yard the hunters had slept in one night. Tinkering had turned to impatient collaboration with Ira to maintain his equipment to get out the junk yard as fast as she could and from there a spark had lodged itself in her heart to help her stand alongside Satsuki instead of trailing behind uselessly. Creation was in her blood it seemed, whether she was conducting Bach or figuring out how to blast COVERS to bits with Hallelujah Chorus. But it was destruction she rained down now, as there was no way any Goku Uniform could survive the endless damage that Mako's had taken. Nonon had to hand the bobble-headed girl one complement though, as she'd taken the beating with nothing more than clenched teeth and a steely glare. But she had chosen not to transform, and the Life Fiber Hunters were not the kind to sit idly on an advantage. Nonon pulled back and thrust forward with one last stab aimed directly at the Banshi, the Bo staff's pointed tip ready to puncture the central binding and render the Fibers useless.

Which would have worked fine, had it made contact. But just as the final blow was about to strike home, Mako vanished. Nonon found her a second later, standing to her side and free from her prison, her uniform as pristine as if it had just come off the factory floor. There was no time to correct her momentum or even cry out as Mako stepped in and knocked her clean off her feet with a single punch. The Bo staff slipped from her fingers as she went down hard, only managing to maintain enough sense to roll so she didn't break her neck upon impact with the floor, and rolling over again to get to her feet. She found her short knife quickly, a miniature version of Bakuzan. Her other hand went to her mouth, whistling for assistance as Marika jumped into the ring with her. Some might say that building a robotic replica of a long dead pet was rather sad. Nonon called it a tactical advantage, and her pet went to work with another whistle, scurrying towards Mako with shining claws as Nonon tried to get her head to stop ringing. She didn't know how Mako had escaped, but with Marika closing in she could watch to see if and when she tried it again. She didn't have to wait long, as Mako once again vanished before her eyes. Nonon swung around this time, finding her on her flank once more. Before she could ready herself, Mako spoke for the first time since the fight had begun.

"You've got a lot of cool toys, you know that?"

And to Nonon's surprise, she was holding the Bo Staff. But that was impossible, seeing as it had been knocked far away from either girl and Mako hadn't made a move to go for it. She was spinning it now, twirling it from hand to hand with surprising dexterity.

"But toys aren't really that useful against me, you know? My uniform's pretty strong. Like, super strong. And I'm not going to lose, cause I've got too much to fight for."

She gave the staff one final spin and launched it skyward like a cheerleader opening the climax of her display.

"So how about you just give up? Your friend doesn't want you do get hurt after all."

Nonon couldn't help but look to Satsuki and Ira, the elder Kiryuin looking not at the fight but to the sky. To anyone else, such a move might be considered a lack of faith, but Nonon just smiled.

"Sorry, but I can't do that. You might be fighting for that Safe Zone you've got going, but I'm fighting so that the world won't need Safe Zones. Besides, running away from you once was bad enough; I'm sure as hell not doing it again."

She started up a string of short swings and cuts with her knife and Mako moved in kind, the two falling into a rhythm of jabs and steps, a strange kind of dance as the purple mist that Nonon had seen Mako use back in the Safe Zone began to gather over her shoulders. The kid gloves were coming off, a fact made abundantly clear when Mako vanished again. There was a sudden sharp pain in Nonon's ribs, so strong that instinct forced to one knee right before Mako punched her in the side of the head again. She hit the ground for real this time, just in time to watch her Bo staff make the return trip, the tip plunging straight towards her as it fell from the heavens. It was just as well she had her tactical advantage, Marika returning from her task to snatch the staff out the air, using her master as a springboard. It found more use as a walking stick now, and Nonon made it to her feet on shaking legs. Her stomach was ablaze with pain, whatever Mako had done making every breath a struggle. Across the arena, Mako bounced from foot to foot, winding up her arm for a final attack.

"Nonon, withdraw!"

The command came from behind her, but Nonon barely believed it. Satsuki had never given an order to retreat before, but now she almost looked worried, her hands tight on Bakuzan Prime.

"She's altering your perception of time, and everyone else's as well. I had Ira count the seconds since she threw your staff into the air. He made it seven seconds, but the clock inside his helmet counted fifteen. That's the power of the Platinum Regalia, and it's not one you can defeat. Retreat for now, before she does worse than a patch of bruising."

The arena fell quiet, and Mako dropped her stance, clearly in favour of that action. Nonon smiled, and wasn't quite sure if it was the smile of someone who had taken too many hits to the head, or someone that was about to win and no-one else knew it yet.

"Come on Satsuki, you've got that little faith in me? I'm a lot more than just a shitty one-hit-wonder after all."

She was moving before anyone spoke again, letting adrenaline salve her wounds and charging right at her opponent, who took the charge with a small, sad sigh. Nonon smiled again, and set her only plan of attack into motion.

"Marika, now!"

Mako had been making to move but froze at the command, tensing to endure the attack. Just as Nonon had planned, and exactly the wrong thing to do. If she had looked around, she would have seen them, the tiny speakers that Marika had been dropping, ignored by Mako in her attempt to end to the fight peacefully. A tune known far and wide burst out in waves of anti-fiber energy as Beethoven's Fifth Symphony rocked the arena. Now it was Mako's turn to be caught unawares and screaming, a pleasure Nonon wasted no time in gloating over.

"Do you really think I'd only come here with toys and sticks? The music these speakers produce resonates with Life Fibers and cripples them, damaging whoever's wearing the tacky things in the first place. And now that you can't use your uniform, you're a sitting duck!"

Ira wasted no time in throwing the heavy artillery to her, even if the shoulder-mounted bass cannon took far longer to steady with bruised ribs holding her back. But with Marika to help Mako fell right into the sights.

"Act three finishes right now!"

The sound became truly unbearable as the bass cannon roared its cry of Hallelujah, a deep purple beam tearing through the shining rings of energy that kept Mako in place. The centre of the arena was engulfed in a swirling maelstrom and then, blessed silence. Nonon let her cannon fall from away, unable to hold onto it as she gave in to the demands of her body, collapsing with exhaustion.

"And that's… two down."

A new sound greeted her, that of manic laughter from on high. Despite her injuries, Nonon found the strength to sneer at Ryuko.

"What's so funny, you sticking bitch? I just put down your right hand."

Ryuko's laughing fit went on far too long, long enough that Nonon's goodwill at her victory vanished, replaced with irritation. It was easy to see why Ira disliked her so much. But finally she stopped, rose up and walked to the edge of her tower to return the distaste in double.

"I was just wondering when you'd figure it out. But I guess my stupid sister keeps stupid company. Ain't it a little too quiet around here? I would have thought someone would be cheering at least."

The realisation dropped hard and fast, an icy grip from hand to toe as Nonon looked around. The crowd was frozen in place, some in the process of getting to their feet to react. Even Satsuki and the Toad were locked steadfast, unable to move because they had no idea they'd been stopped dead in the first place.

"What the hell have you done?"

"Me? Nothing. Take it up with her."

A hand grabbed Nonon's shoulder and squeezed, so tightly that it almost felt like every bone in her arm would break at the touch. She forced herself to look around and up, despite already knowing who would be there. It was Mako, but not as Nonon knew her. In her place was a seven foot giantess, silver muscles rippling under tribal clothes and armour, one leather gauntlet pinning her down.

**THREE STAR GOKU UNIFORM – PLATINUM REGALIA**

Nonon couldn't speak for fear of screaming, and she refused to give Ryuko the satisfaction. The tyrant of Honnouji ran her mouth instead.

"You know, when you stop someone from moving using music, you probably shouldn't then disrupt that music with more music, or they might just escape the concert. I guess you just can't carry more than one tune at a time huh? Well, Mako can only hold the crowd for so long, so let's give my sister a real show, shall we?"

Nonon was yanked off the ground, Mako carrying her to the previous centre of the blast with one hand. The last thing she heard was a soft whimper of "I'm sorry" before everything went black.


	10. Howl

Naturals Elections: A Kill La Kill Fanfiction

AN: Not terribly happy with this chapter as it feels like I'm treading old ground. But It's done now, so I can get to the fun fight next chapter.

Chapter Ten – Howl

The wind was up today. A bad day to take a shot, but it would have to be done regardless of Mother Nature's temperament. She'd be thanking him later, when the Life Fibers were wiped from her planet. The rig had been set up long ago, the long barrel of Aikuro's rifle aimed squarely at the centre of the Naturals Election's arena. Now all he could do was wait for his target to grace her stage, which she would. Aikuro could feel it in his waters. The placement and failures of her minions mattered little, as Satsuki would make it to the final singlehandedly even if she had to give up an arm and a leg to get there. Once she and Ryuko came to blows, all he had to do was let them crash up against each other until the tyrant of Honnouji wore herself down and opened herself up. With one shot, a quarter of REVOCs' ruling caste would be eliminated, and the keystone to Ragyo's insane plan would be destroyed. Creating a new Kamui from scratch would have burdened the design enough, but there was only one other that could take up the mantle of world-ender. Ragyo would be flushed out into the open come the promised day, and when she did Nudist Beach would show her the power of humanity that she'd arrogantly dismissed.

A deep rumble echoed up the highway, coming to a stop right outside his little nest. Tsumugu had returned, and he almost broke out into a ghost of smile when he saw the setup. It was quickly smothered.

"Should I even ask why you felt the need to bring a picnic basket with you?"

"Well, it's not like I could have been fashionably late to this event. Better to camp out early so I'm ready for when our idol show up. And as an added bonus, I got to watch you go at it with the young puppy. I take it you're not too bashed up after that fall?"

"Some of my bones are still resetting, but I'm used to it by now. I'll be heading back to provide support as soon as I'm done here. But as you've brought lunch…"

He reached into a deep pocket, retrieving a small plastic bag. The bullets inside caught the sun just right, casting the pair in a deeper red than his Mohawk.

"I'll trade you a sandwich for three Red Herrings."

* * *

Satsuki knew what had happened the second Nonon vanished. The Life Fibers of the Elite Four's uniforms were unlike the ones found in the COVERS that they'd faced so many times in the bowels of REVOCs factories. These had been steeled and polished in the fires of endless combat that engulfed Honnouji, and when they were combined with the desperate will of Ryuko's fanatical Elite, they could be pushed into unpredictable power. Mankanshoku's uniform was as far beyond the original Three-Star uniforms as they had been above a regular human's capacities. The fact that she could manipulate human senses was testament to that.

The air was still thick with purple smoke from Nonon's final attack, leaving the remaining Life Fiber Hunters to wait and expect the worst. They held stone masks in place of their faces, knowing that Ryuko would be looking for any signs of despair. They would not humour her, even if their comrade had been slain. When the smoke cleared, Mako was still standing, looking up to Ryuko's tower with her hands balled up into nervous fists at her sides. Nonon's standing privileges had been revoked, the former heiress a crumpled mess at her opponent's feet. Marika had received similar treatment, pulled apart like a wishbone and stomped repeatedly for good measure. As Ryuko proudly announced the winner, Mako hauled Nonon over one shoulder and threw her straight at Satsuki, who caught her by the collar without blinking. Ira had produced a blanket and pillow before Nonon was lain down again. She was battered beyond compare, less a girl and more a walking mass of cuts and bruises, each small breath twisting the corners of her mouth in pain. But she was still alive, and Satsuki took the Pyrrhic victory where she could. Nonon would survive in Ira's care. It was Satsuki's task to set about avenging her. Bakuzan-Prime was out in a second, the black blade flashing in the afternoon sun as she stepped out to Ryuko's taunting.

"And here I thought I was supposed to be the monster. Ignoring your friend and marching straight into battle without looking back, without care or consideration for those you've stepped on to keep going."

Her face twisted into an ugly snarl as she began to bark orders.

"As expected of Satsuki Kiryuin. Uzu, take her apart."

The sole elite left unbloodied nodded just once, notching a shinai over his shoulder as he nonchalantly strolled forward to face Satsuki. There was none of the nervousness that Maiko had shown, nor the reluctance of Mako and Houka as lime-green light swallowed the boy and spat out a warrior god.

**FOUR STAR GOKU UNIFORM – WAR GOD REGALIA**

Golden plates cast with depictions of every battle in history formed over him, creating a living statue ready for combat. Every feature of Uzu Sanagayama had disappeared behind gilded splendour, but it was his helmet that concealed the most, a blank fascicle of his face staring emptily at her from behind closed eyes. Four extra arms burst from his back, each one already armed with lance and axe, claymore and bastard sword. His shinai had become a katana to rival Bakuzan-Prime, held in the only hands he could claim as his own. It was all so much flash and thunder, an entity designed to inspire fear and awe in he who had snatched the fourth star. The moment Ryuko called for the start Satsuki was already pressing him with quick, calculated strikes, each one testing the speed of the man inside. The battle was one of near silence as the katanas flickered and clashed again and again, the only sound that of metal on metal as they advanced though their deadly dance. There was no desperate screaming or banter, as true warriors had need for such things. Even Ryuko was quieted as they took steps forward only to retreat when the flank was threatened, struck and feinted so quickly and interchangeably that the outside viewers dared not even cheer when a blow appeared to land for fear of being premature in celebration. It took five minutes before first blood was drawn. Uzu misjudged a feint, Bakuzan-Prime darting forward and slitting a thin line across his collarbone before he could correct himself. The golden warrior leapt back, one hand resting across the wound to check the damage.

"Impressive. Even with Shingantsu, you're moving quickly enough that it makes no difference."

Satsuki didn't respond, already moving to put him on the back foot once more. She had seen and experienced enough of Uzu's style that she could counter-read his moves as he read hers. After that, it was simply a matter of who could move faster. There was no clash of blades this time, as it was clear Satsuki could best his swordplay, uniform or no uniform. Instead the lance came to greet her, punching out to disrupt her flow. When she avoided that the axe was already crashing down on her, and by the time she'd defended herself against that the bastard sword was moving, chopping into her space to force her back. As she did so, the back of the War God Regalia was opening up, a hundred strings tensing in preparation. Uzu braced himself as his unleashed his new attack, a deadly hail of arrows flying high up before coming crashing down on every inch of the arena. Satsuki stepped back to avoid one, and from there she was locked into defence as the hail thickened into a storm. A hundred strings tensed and released every few seconds, laying on the arrows in such furious numbers that neither contestant could see the sun though the barrage. But Satsuki kept moving, stepping away where she could and hacking away those she couldn't. For all Uzu's artillery, her advance was only delayed in starts and faults. And so it was the Uzu ran to meet her instead, ramming his lance as she made to dodge his final volley. It almost worked, but as Satsuki stepped into his range she reached out with one hand and sprung over the lance, knocking a flight of arrows asunder as she did so. The lance arm was next to go, and she removed it at the elbow in one swift motion. The numbers game came back into play, undeterred by the loss of their fellow as the useless arm was ejected. It was here that Uzu had the advantage, keeping Satsuki at bay by separating her focus between four weapons moving in conjunction. For each one she turned away, another was already preparing to bite her unguarded zones. And yet they never hit home, Satsuki weaving a web of metal all around her to deflect the multi-headed blows that came at her. Each movement was perfect, but there was no sign of thought or elation on her face as she kept him out. That calm, unapproachable demeanour burned him far greater than the loss of his arm.

Uzu had very little to be proud of since he had begun attending Honnouji. The gang he'd set up had been demolished by the same girl who tested him now with nothing more than a shout. He'd been given power only to be dwarfed by not only by her, but her sister as well. He'd watched as Ryuko went mad with power and then mad in general, his powerlessness proven day after day in trials and sealed with Ira Gamagoori's exile. Every advance he made to catch up was demolished either under overwhelming brute force or plain ignored yet again. Looking upon that same indifferent face as it took him apart again after three years just brought it all crashing back down on him. Some small part of his mind screamed at him to stop, that they were on the same side. He could take the loss now and come back later when the world wasn't at stake. But he couldn't stop, not here, not now, not without scoring at least one point and not while both the younger and elder Satsuki kept staring down at him with that passive expression. He called upon the fourth star, and threw himself into madness.

The crowd watched Satsuki lose her stance for the first time since the fight started, knocked askew by a tumultuous Ki blast that shook the arena tower down to its core. It was the first of many, each one roaring out in wave after wave, and in the centre of each ring of power was the War God Regalia, growing more distorted and bulging with every second that passed. The finely crafted armour buckled from the internal pressure as Uzu's muscles expended unnaturally within. One arm tore the helmet away completely as the remaining weapons were blown away, revealing blank eyes and terrible fangs as Uzu screamed fury to the heavens. Just as the shockwaves died down the back of the Four-Star uniform opened up again, releasing not arrows but hundreds of katanas, each on landing point-down in the platform. He was moving before anyone could react, a sword in each of his twitching arms and every one of them bearing down on Satsuki. One caught her clean across the chest, another one coming dangerously close to her neck before she regained her balance and deflected it. What had been a back-and-forth match now dissolved into a frenzied chase, Satsuki set to a desperate defence as Uzu ran her down. The few blows she slipped through the storm of blades skipped off the enhanced armour, and when she managed to dislodge a sword from his iron-cast grip it was immediately replaced by one of its brethren from the floor. There were more openings in his attack now, but none she could capitalise on through the unending blitzkrieg that was hunting her. Whatever the Life Fibers had done to him, it had increased his strength and speed to a level that tested even her. So she repeated the tactic that had served her in the ruins of Dr Matoi's mansion, and began a ranged offensive in kind. The katanas that had been spread throughout the arena were now turned on their master, each one knocked back with rapid swings from Bakuzan-Prime. They bounced off him to no avail, but the distraction was all she needed. Even an animal back into a corner recognised danger when it flew into their vision, and as Uzu recoiled to avoid the swords Satsuki swept in, aiming a fist right into a gap created by his transformation. She had only a second to grab a fistful of Life Fibers, but it was enough to locate a clump of strings that could be the Banshi and tear it out. Whatever she pulled out was clearly enough, as the War God Regalia froze, great gouts of steam erupting from the cracks in Uzu's armour. The madness that had overcome him fast faded from his face as he tumbled forward with one final swing of his swords. They never made their targets as his additional arms fell away in pieces, the katana in his naked hands coming to a slow stop as he collapsed against Satsuki.

"One… more. Give me… one… more chance. I'm… almost there."

"Almost, but not quite."

Uzu gave a low, rattling moan as he pitched over sideways to lie among the ruined fragments of his uniform. There was no cheering as Satsuki returned to her companions; Uzu had been too well liked for that. She kept her footsteps slow and steady, ignoring the long cut that he had rent on her from breast to shoulder even as she felt the open area become fingered by hundreds of tiny, thirsty mouths. Acknowledging it would only drive them into thinking they could feed. Thankfully, Ira already had bandages prepared when she returned, passing by her with grim determination as Ryuko demanded that Uzu be swept off the side and for the next round to begin as soon as possible.

* * *

The crowds were out in full force to watch the Naturals Elections. As Honnouji's premiere event and elective campaign, it was a must-watch for the citizens who tentatively called Honnouji home. It helped that Ryuko loved being on display, and as such had massive screens prepared for the masses to huddle around. But none of that concerned Nui, who had different entertainment in mind as she danced from rooftop to rooftop, booing the screens as she went. The lousy monkey in Ryuko's employ had only put one scratch on Satsuki, which wasn't nearly enough. Not nearly, nearly, even one-one thousandth good enough! Then again, Satsuki wasn't good enough for a lot of things. Bludgeoning was too quick, burning was too slow, even if she started with only a candle and built up a bonfire around it. Poisoning was out of the question, as Nui was a sweet girl who had no knowledge of such things. And turning her into a human pincushion was also out of the question, as it would be terribly unfashionable to ruin a pig with the same trick twice in a row. Nui was an expert. She had standards to uphold, and becoming a one-trick-pony would kill her creative soul. So clearly she would have to put all her best women on the case.

All along the rooftops and watchtowers of Honnouji, packs of REVOCs' grand couturier wove terrible plans as they converged upon the academy.


End file.
